Boston is mostly Fill

[RobertN]

I have been reading about early Boston since attending a local Appleseed event. I was back there a few months ago on business but did not have time to look around. While reading, I found it interesting in the 1770's that access to Boston was over a narrow 120' wide "Boston Neck". All of Boston was in fact really a peninsula. But modern maps show no such thing. While looking around online, I found this site. It shows an interesting progression as most of the area around Boston was filled in; the bays and marshes. Thought it was rather interesting:

Things Have Changed: Filling Boston

 

[Tomtint]

It is mostly fill. There is a section called the Back Bay... That was once ...the back bay. Now it's multi million dollar brownstones. What's buried under all that fill....well... Not all of Whities victims have been located and as far as I know Hoffa is still not accounted for.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Same with Manhattan I think

 

[Garandman]

There is a book called Mapping Boston that goes into it in great detail.

Basically anyplace with perpendicular intersections is fill, including parts of the North End, South Boston, East Boston and of course Back Bay.

I looked into it quite a bit after Hurricane Sandy put 14' of sea water into Lower Manhattan. We live in the oldest settled part of mainland Boston and it looks like we'll be OK.

Flooded Boston | WGBH News

 

[Woody65]

Same with Manhattan I think

The only part of Manhattan that's fill is Battery Park. The fill came from the excavation of the footings for the twin towers (wtc) in the 1970's. Most of Manhattan is actually bedrock.

 

[RobertN]

Interesting. At 7.5' flood, the map looks similar to early maps...

There is a book called Mapping Boston that goes into it in great detail.

Basically anyplace with perpendicular intersections is fill, including parts of the North End, South Boston, East Boston and of course Back Bay.

I looked into it quite a bit after Hurricane Sandy put 14' of sea water into Lower Manhattan. We live in the oldest settled part of mainland Boston and it looks like we'll be OK.

Flooded Boston | WGBH News

 

[Garandman]

The other feature of Boston is a 10-11 foot tidal swing. Northeast storms (usually the most intense) drive waves towards the coast in the Gulf of Maine. Coupled with astronomical high tides (full or new moon when the moon is nearest the earth) of up to 12.4' and we get 2-4' higher tides and flooding. This high water backs up rivers so that can increase flooding as well.

Not sure if that means we are more or less prepared. I do keep an 11' inflatable and outboard at the house......

 

[RickB]

Everything on the Casco Bay side of Fore Street in Portland ME is fill.

 

[mjarrels]

Mall of asia in metro manila is all built on fill. Manila even has a basement deep beneath the streets, probably stays flooded during rainy season. It was strange the first time I went down to see it.

mark

 

[CCWKen]

China has been building an artificial island in the South China Sea and now claiming jurisdiction of all "territorial waters" between Vietnam, Philippines and Malaisa. In effect, claiming control of the entire South China Sea international passage and shipping routes. It has the UN scrambling. Not to mention the US and the Asian countries. It would be similar to England claiming ownership of the North Atlantic or the US claiming ownership of the Pacific Ocean because of Hawaii.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

The other feature of Boston is a 10-11 foot tidal swing. Northeast storms (usually the most intense) drive waves towards the coast in the Gulf of Maine. Coupled with astronomical high tides (full or new moon when the moon is nearest the earth) of up to 12.4' and we get 2-4' higher tides and flooding. This high water backs up rivers so that can increase flooding as well.

Not sure if that means we are more or less prepared. I do keep an 11' inflatable and outboard at the house......

I grew up in Cambridge and I remember people canoeing past my house during a big flood in the early 70's. I think the hurricane of 1938 had a storm surge of 18'.

 

[mjarrels]

The last couple of times I was in the Philippines, fill from the 1991 mt pinatobo eruption was being loaded on large barges and shipped to Singapore for use in land building. Heck, look at Dubi?

mark

 

[RobertN]

I know there is major fill in the San Francisco Bay. The Marina district was hit hard during the '89 earthquake; the fill shook like Jello.

 

[mjarrels]

Heck, look up the building of NAS Cubi Point in the Philippines. Navy Seabees moved a mountain and probably moved more dirt than the building of the Panama Canal. Filled in Subi Bay (a deep natural port) to build a long runway with supporting buildings and hangars.

mark

 

[Garandman]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_Cubi_Point

 

[Garandman]

Here's what Boston looks like today:

And here is the FEMA flood map. As you can see, "We got problems, right here in River City." Boston Harbor has three rivers flowing into it (Charles, Mystic, and Neponset) and they will back up as well.

We inquired about flooding before we bought our house, and were told, "Well, it hasn't flooded since first settled in 1630: you're probably OK."
We live at the lofty elevation of 29 feet about the mean high water level....