Ever wonder? 2.15

Q: Why are the dead buried above ground in New Orleans?
Q: Why are the dead buried above ground in New Orleans?

A: New Orleans is built on lowlands formed from silt deposited by the Mississippi River. As a result, the subsoil in New Orleans has, in the past, been too damp for below-ground burials. The dead, therefore, were buried in above-ground vaults or tombs.

– Douglas B. Smith, ‘Ever Wonder Why?’