Batture refers to the alluvial land between the low-tide of the Mississippi and the levee. The word "batture" comes from the French word "to beat," referring to the land "beaten" by the river. It is a land formed by accretion; as the mighty Mississippi moves on her way to the Gulf of Mexico, she leaves behind deposits of land which, over time, form the batture. Heavy flooding can cause the batture to increase significantly in a matter of a few years. Maps from the 19th century show that the batture doubled in size in less than a hundred years. Today, the distance between the uppermost corner of the French Quarter and the river is four times further than it was 300 years ago. This land is quite valuable, as it is prime real estate, right on the Mississippi. All of the land from the Tchoupitoulas-Decatur corridor and the river was batture, including the New Orleans Convention Center, the Aquarium of the Americas, and the Riverwalk mall.
As the alluvion increased and the batture grew, the levees protecting the city from the river were frequently rebuilt, as show in the 1813 map. Also shown is the portion of the batture disputed by Edward Livingston. From An Answer to Mr. Jefferson's Justification of His Conduct in the Case of the the New Orleans Batture, by Livingston.
