- This article is about the type of dam. See also Levee (event)
A levee (from the French for "raised") is a natural or artificial embankment, usually earthen, which parallels the course of a river.
Artificial Levees
Artificial levees function to prevent flooding of the adjoining countryside; however, it also confines the flow of the river resulting in higher and faster water flow.
Levees are usually built by piling earth on a cleared, level surface. Broad at the base, they taper to a level top, where temporary embankments or sandbags can be placed. Because flood discharge intensity increases in levees on both banks, and because silt deposits raise the level of riverbeds, planning, as well as auxiliary measures are vital.
Prominent levee systems exist along the Mississippi River and Sacramento Rivers in the United States, and the Po, Vistula, and Danube in Europe.
In some countries, levees are known by other names, such as floodbanks or stopbanks.
Levees in popular culture
The song "I've been working on the railroad" was, according to Carl Sandburg, originally "I've been working on the levee" before the days of railroads. Other notable mention of levees in music are Led Zeppelin's "When the levee breaks", and then A Perfect Circles cover of "When the levee breaks", also Don McLean's mention of driving his "Chevy to the levee" in his song "American Pie"
See also: Dike
Natural Levees
A natural levee results from the deposit of material by a river during flood stage resulting in the land near a river being raised in elevation. When the river is not in flood state it cuts a channel in the elevated material. Natural levees are especially noted on the Yellow River in China near the sea where ocean going ships appear to sail high above the plain on the elevated river. Natural levees are also present on the Rio Grande River in Colorado's San Luis Valley.
Natural levees are formed as sediment of larger grain size settle out on the banks of channels due to the drop in flow velocity on the edge of the channel.
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