ourirectly influenced why founder established new orleans i. nd,hought we would loop arou follow the bayou into the city, and how that led to the founding of new orleans. let's talk about basic geography here. behind us to the north, if you look at cardinal directions, is a tidal lagoon known as lake country. if you go in this direction, you will get to that city river. those who lived in precolonial times, and the french colonials arriving in 1689, the problem was how to connect these bodies, the gulf on one side, and mississippi to the north american hinterland on the other. this byaou allowed french explorers to circumvent the muddy mouth of the mississippi river, and instead come true chartrain and take a two to thertage route mississippi river. for that reason, new orleans was established as the french quarter. as you come over this overpass, you will see bayou st. john. if you draw a line from this body of water to the high-rises, that marks that two miles portage trail. butas going through swamps, this trail was just a couple feet above the