Mississippi River

WHERE DOES MISSISSIPI RIVER START AND END?

• It flows south for 2,340 miles (3,770 kilometres) from its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. 
• The Mississippi River can be divided into 3 distinct reaches, or sections, based on physical characteristics.
• The upper Mississippi River reach stretches from St. Paul to the Missouri River's mouth near St. Louis, Missouri. The river in this segment takes on the character that led Algonquian-speaking Indians to name it the "Father of Waters," as it flows past steep limestone bluffs and receives water from tributaries in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.
• The middle Mississippi River runs for 200 miles (320 kilometres) from the Missouri River junction to the Ohio River's mouth.
• The lower Mississippi reaches its full splendour beyond the Ohio's confluence in Cairo, Illinois. The Ohio is larger where these two mighty rivers meet, so the Mississippi swells to more than twice its size below the Ohio confluence. The lower Mississippi becomes a brown, lazy river, descending with deceptive quiet toward the Gulf of Mexico, often 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from bank to bank.

IS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER THE LONGEST IN THE WORLD?

• Although the Mississippi can be ranked as the world's fourth longest river by adding the length of the Missouri-Jefferson (Red Rock) system to the Mississippi downstream of the Missouri-Mississippi confluence—for a total length of 3,710 miles (5,971 km).
• The Mississippi's 2,340-mile length is comfortably surpassed by 19 other rivers. 
• The Mississippi, with a discharge rate of roughly 600,000 cubic feet (17,000 cubic metres) per second, is the largest in North America and the eighth largest in the world in terms of volume.
• The Mississippi River has become one of the busiest commercial waterways in the world as the central river artery of a highly industrialised nation, and as the unruly neighbour of some of the continent's richest farmland, it has been subjected to a remarkable degree of human control and modification.
• Furthermore, the river's singular contribution to American history and literature has woven it like a bright thread through North American folklore and national consciousness, connecting the names of two US presidents—Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant—with the celebrated author Mark Twain.

WHAT MAKES MISSISSIPI RIVER UNIQUE?

• The Mississippi, Missouri, and Jefferson Rivers make up the world's fourth-longest river system.
• The Mississippi River rises in northern Minnesota, where Lake Itasca is thought to be its source and flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Mississippi–Missouri–Jefferson River system is formed when the Jefferson River is considered the Mississippi River's farthest source.
• The Mississippi embayment, formed from thick layers of the river's silt deposits, is one of the most fertile regions of the United States; steamboats were widely used to ship agricultural and industrial goods in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
  
• Because of the river's strategic importance to the Confederate war effort, the Mississippi's capture by Union forces marked a turning point toward victory during the American Civil War.
• The Mississippi River is well-known for its role in the United States' industrialization. The river generates hydroelectric power, supplies drinking water to millions of people, and is home to a variety of ecologically and commercially important fish species.
• The Mississippi River reaches its widest point near Bena, Minnesota, where it forms Lake Winnibigoshish. The Mississippi's Lake Winnibigoshish is over 11 miles wide at its widest point.
• Water skiing was invented on the Mississippi River's Lake Winnibigoshish. Ralph Samuelson was the first to translate snow skiing to water when he was only 18 years old.
• Martin Strel, a Slovenian distance swimmer, was the first to swim the length of the Mississippi River in 68 days, back in 2002. He also swam the entire length of the Amazon and Yangtze rivers. Chris Ring, an American Navy combat veteran, became the second person and the first American to swim the Mississippi River in 2015.
• The Mississippi River supports a diverse range of animals, including at least 260 different fish species. The Mississippi River is home to about a quarter of all North American fish species, with half of them living below St. Anthony Falls, the river's only major waterfall.
• Currents, pools, and backwaters in this section of the river provide habitat for a diverse range of fish species. Carps, catfish, sturgeon, pike, and gar are among the Mississippi fish species.
• Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana are all located along the Mississippi River.
• Every second, the Mississippi River discharges over 4 million gallons of water into the Gulf of Mexico. Natural meanders and man-made changes cause the river to flow at different speeds along its length. Water flowing from the Mississippi River's headwaters at Lake Itasca takes about three months to reach the Gulf of Mexico.

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