section_path: Geography
section_name: Geography
paragraph_text: Geography
  
  New Orleans is located in the Mississippi River Delta, south of Lake Pontchartrain, on the banks of the Mississippi River, approximately 105 miles (169 km) upriver from the Gulf of Mexico. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's area is 350 square miles (910 km 2), of which 169 square miles (440 km 2) is land and 181 square miles (470 km 2) (52%) is water. The area along the river is characterized by ridges and hollows.