[noblejones]

>>
And we criticize New Orleans for building in a flood zone.
<<

Nah, that IS dumber. The French knew they were building in a sinking swamp, but were too drunk to care.

Early settlers in California didn't undertsand the fearsome potential of earthquakes. Even so, it is possible to build earthquake resistant structures -- but skyscrapers are probably really stupid ideas. California has also been retrofitting older structures quite actively since the seventies while folks in New Orleans hijacked federal dollars to build casinos and support centers for transsexuals.

Only time will tell, but the bay area is way overdue for centuries of high seismic activity.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Also, you can't really "move" a harbor from its surrounding lands that create the sheltered bay: SF and Oakland can't move, but NOLA has no particular reason to be in that particular part of the MIssip River, other than its closeness to Lake Pontchartrain. But, cross-shipping from NOLA to the Lake didn't work out like the French expected anyway.

Another French failure, like Haiti. And France. And the rest of their colonies in Africa.