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Mississippi River
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The Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. The longest river, a Mississippi tributary, is the Missouri River measuring .
The Mississippi River is part of the Jefferson-Missouri-Mississippi river system, which is the largest river system in North America and among the largest in the world: by length (), it is the fourth longest, and by its average discharge of 572,000 cu ft/s (16,200 m³/s), it is the tenth largest river.
The name Mississippi is derived from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi ("Great River") or gichi-ziibi ("Big River") at its headwaters.
Geography
The Missouri River flows from the confluence of the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin to the Mississippi River.
Discussion
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Timeline
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1541 Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River naming it Rio de Espiritu Santo.
1673 French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet reach the headwaters of Mississippi River and descend to Arkansas
1673 Trader Louis Joliet and Jesuit missionary-explorer Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.
1687 The men under explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle murder him while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River.
1699 Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville founds the first European settlement in the Mississippi River Valley.
1716 Natchez, one of the oldest towns on the Mississippi, founded.
1839 The University of Missouri is established, becoming the first public university west of the Mississippi River.
1849 Break in the Mississippi River levee at Sauvé's Crevasse which will flood much of New Orleans, Louisiana
1854 The Grand Excursion takes prominent Eastern U.S. inhabitants from Chicago, Illinois to Rock Island, Illinois by railroad, then up the Mississippi River to St. Paul, Minnesota by steamboat.
1855 The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, a crossing made today by the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge.
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Encyclopedia
The Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. The longest river, a Mississippi tributary, is the Missouri River measuring .
The Mississippi River is part of the Jefferson-Missouri-Mississippi river system, which is the largest river system in North America and among the largest in the world: by length (), it is the fourth longest, and by its average discharge of 572,000 cu ft/s (16,200 m³/s), it is the tenth largest river.
The name Mississippi is derived from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi ("Great River") or gichi-ziibi ("Big River") at its headwaters.
Geography
The Missouri River flows from the confluence of the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin to the Mississippi River. Taken together, the Jefferson, the Missouri, and the Mississippi form the longest river system in North America. If measured from the source of the Jefferson at Brower's Spring, to the Gulf of Mexico, the length of the Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson combination is approximately , making the combination the 4th longest river in the world. The uppermost of this combined river are called the Jefferson, the lowest are part of the Mississippi, and the intervening are called the Missouri.
The Arkansas River is the second longest tributary of the Mississippi River. Measured by water volume, the largest of all Mississippi tributaries is the Ohio River.
The widest point of the Mississippi River is Lake Onalaska, near La Crosse, Wisconsin, where the river is over wide. Since Lake Onalaska was created by Lock and Dam No. 7, Lake Pepin is historically the widest natural spot at more than two miles (3 km) wide. However, these areas are reservoirs rather than free flowing water. In areas where the Mississippi is a flowing river, it exceeds one mile (1.6 km) in width in several places in its lower course.
The Mississippi River runs through 10 states and was used to define portions of these states' borders. The middle of the riverbed at the time the borders were established was the line to define the borders between states. The river has since shifted, but the state borders of Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi have not changed; they still follow the former bed of the Mississippi River as of their establishment.
The river is divided into the upper Mississippi, from its source south to the Ohio River, and the lower Mississippi, from the Ohio to its mouth near New Orleans, Louisiana.
Upper Mississippi River
The upper Mississippi is divided into three sections: the headwaters, from the source to Saint Anthony Falls; a series of man-made lakes between Minneapolis and St. Louis, Missouri; and the middle Mississippi, a relatively free-flowing river downstream of the confluence with the Missouri River at St. Louis.
SourceThe source of the Mississippi River is Lake Itasca, 1,475 ft (450 m) above sea level in Itasca State Park located in Clearwater County, Minnesota. The name "Itasca"
is a combination of the last four letters of the Latin word for truth (veritas) and the first two letters of the Latin word for head (caput).
The uppermost lock and dam on the Mississippi River is the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Above the dam, the river's elevation is 799 feet. Below the dam, the river's elevation is 750 feet. This 49 foot drop is the largest of all the Mississippi River lock and dams. The origin of the dramatic drop is a waterfall preserved adjacent to the lock under an apron of concrete. St. Anthony Falls is the only true waterfall on the entire Mississippi River. The water elevation continues to drop steeply as it passes through the gorge carved by the waterfall. By the time the river reaches St. Paul, Minnesota, below Lock and Dam #1, it has dropped more than half its original elevation and is 687 feet above sea level. From St. Paul to the Gulf of Mexico the river elevation falls much more slowly and is controlled and managed as series of pools created by locks and dams.
TributariesThe Mississippi is joined by the Minnesota River south of the Twin Cities, the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, the St. Croix River near Prescott, Wisconsin, the Iowa River near Wapello, Iowa, the Skunk River south of Burlington, Iowa, the Des Moines River in Keokuk, Iowa, the Illinois River and the Missouri River near St. Louis, and by the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois.
Lower Mississippi RiverMajor sub-tributaries include the Tennessee River (a tributary of the Ohio River) and the Platte River (a tributary of the Missouri River). The Arkansas River joins the Mississippi in southeastern Arkansas. The Atchafalaya River in Louisiana is a major distributary of the Mississippi.
Cities along the riverThe cities below have either historic significance or cultural lore connecting them to the Mississippi River. They are ordered from the beginning of the river to its end.
- Bemidji, Minnesota
- Little Falls, Minnesota
- Saint Cloud, Minnesota
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- Winona, Minnesota
- La Crosse, Wisconsin
- Dubuque, Iowa
- Bettendorf, Iowa
- Davenport, Iowa
- Rock Island, Illinois
- Moline, Illinois
- Muscatine, Iowa
- Burlington, Iowa
- Fort Madison, Iowa
- Nauvoo, Illinois
- Keokuk, Iowa
- Quincy, Illinois
- Hannibal, Missouri
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
- Cape Girardeau, Missouri
- Cairo, Illinois
- New Madrid, Missouri
- Columbus, Kentucky
- Hickman, Kentucky
- Reverie, Tennessee
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Tunica, Mississippi
- Helena-West Helena, Arkansas
- Greenville, Mississippi
- Vicksburg, Mississippi
- Natchez, Mississippi
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Pilottown, Louisiana
- La Balize, Louisiana (historical)
Bridge crossings
The first bridge across the Mississippi River was built in 1855. It spanned the river in Minneapolis where the current Hennepin Avenue Bridge is located.
The first railroad bridge across the Mississippi was built in 1856. It spanned the river between Arsenal Island at Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. Steamboat captains of the day, fearful of competition from the railroads, considered the new bridge "a hazard to navigation". Two weeks after the bridge opened, the steamboat Effie Afton rammed part of the bridge and started it on fire. Legal proceedings ensued, with Abraham Lincoln defending the railroad. The lawsuit went to the Supreme Court of the United States and was eventually ruled in favor of Lincoln and the railroad.
Below is a general overview of bridges over the Mississippi which have notable engineering or landmark significance with its city. They are ordered from the source to the mouth.
- Stone Arch Bridge - a former Great Northern Railroad (now pedestrian) bridge in Minneapolis.
- Interstate 35W Mississippi River Bridge - This bridge collapsed catastrophically on August 1, 2007, killing 13 and injuring over 100. It is scheduled to be replaced by the St. Anthony Bridge, to open in September 2008.
- Black Hawk Bridge, connecting Lansing, Allamakee County, Iowa to rural Crawford County, Wisconsin, locally referred to as the Lansing Bridge and documented in the Historic American Engineering Record.
- Julien Dubuque Bridge - A bridge connecting Dubuque, Iowa and East Dubuque, Illinois, that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
- Interstate 74 Bridge connecting Moline, Illinois, to Bettendorf, Iowa, is a twin suspension bridge, also known historically as the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge.
- Rock Island Government Bridge connecting Rock Island, Illinois, to Davenport, Iowa. Located just southwest of the site of the first bridge across the Mississippi River, it is one of only two bridges in the world with two sets of railroad tracks above the auto lanes. It is co-located with Lock and Dam #15, the largest roller dam in the world.
- Rock Island Centennial Bridge connecting Rock Island, Illinois, to Davenport, Iowa.
- Norbert F. Beckey Bridge connecting Muscatine, Iowa, to Rock Island County, Illinois, became the country's first bridge to be illuminated with light-emitting diode lights decoratively illuminate the facade of the bridge.
- Great River Bridge - cable-stayed bridge, connecting Burlington, Iowa, to Gulf Port, Illinois.
- Santa Fe Bridge - in Fort Madison, Iowa, the largest double-deck swing-span bridge in the world. It is the last operating swing bridge over the Mississippi River for automobile traffic and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
- Quincy Bayview Bridge - cable-stayed bridge connecting Quincy, Illinois, and West Quincy, Missouri, via westbound US Highway 24. Eastbound traffic into Quincy is served by the older Quincy Memorial Bridge.
- Clark Bridge also known as the Super Bridge as the result of an appearance on PBS program Nova. This cable-stay bridge constructed in 1994 connects Alton, Illinois, to Black Jack, Missouri. It is the northernmost river crossing in the St. Louis metropolitan area and is named after explorer William Clark.
- Chain of Rocks Bridge - A bridge on the northern edge of St. Louis; famous for a 22-degree bend halfway across and the most famous alignment of Historic Route 66 across the Mississippi.
- Eads Bridge - A bridge connecting St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois; the first major steel bridge in the world, and also a National Historic Landmark. This bridge now carries the St. Louis MetroLink light rail system.
- Chester Bridge - The bridge that connects Chester, Illinois, to Missouri and eventually Perryville, Missouri. The bridge has been struck at least twice by tornadoes.
- Hernando de Soto Bridge - carries Interstate 40 to connect Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas; listed in Guinness Book of World Records for its unique structural "letter" shape.
- Frisco Bridge - was the first crossing of the Lower Mississippi and the longest cantilever truss steel railroad bridge in North America when it opened on May 12, 1892. It connects Memphis and West Memphis and is listed as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
- Memphis & Arkansas Bridge - the longest Warren truss- style bridge in the United States which carries Interstate 55 to connect Memphis and West Memphis; also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Huey P. Long Bridge - Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, the first Mississippi River span built in Louisiana.
- Crescent City Connection - connects the east and west banks of New Orleans, Louisiana; the 5th-longest cantilever bridge in the world.
Nomenclature
The word Mississippi comes from Messipi, the French rendering of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe or Algonquin) name for the river, Misi-ziibi ("Great River").
The Ojibwa called Lake Itasca Omashkoozo-zaaga'igan ("Elk Lake") and the river flowing out of it Omashkoozo-ziibi ("Elk River"). After flowing into Lake Bemidji, the Ojibwe called the river Bemijigamaa-ziibi ("River from the Traversing Lake"). After flowing into Cass Lake, the name of the river again changed to Miskwaawaakokaa-ziibi ("Red Cedar River") and then to Gichi-ziibi ("Great River") after flowing into Lake Winnibigoshish. The Ojibwe name Misi-ziibi applied only to the portion below the Crow Wing River, but the ever-changing names of the river seemed illogical to the English speakers.
After the expeditions by Giacomo Costantino Beltrami and Henry Schoolcraft, the longest stream above the juncture of the Crow Wing River and Gichi-ziibi was named Mississippi River.
In Cheyenne the Mississippi River is called Má?xe-é?ometaa?e ("Big Greasy River").
Because of its size and historical significance, the Mississippi has many nicknames. Among these are:
- The Father of Waters
- The Gathering of Waters
- The Big Muddy (more commonly associated with the Missouri River)
- Big River
- Ol' Man River (a nickname immortalized by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern in their song from the classic musical Show Boat)
- The Great River
- Body of a Nation
- The Mighty Mississippi
- El Grande (by Hernando de Soto)
- The Muddy Mississippi
- Old Blue
- Moon River
- Ol' Miss
WatershedThe Mississippi River has the third largest drainage basin (or catchment) in the world, exceeded in size only by the watersheds of the Amazon River and Congo River. It drains 41% of the 48 Continental United States. The basin covers more than 1,245,000 sq mi (3,225,000 km²), including all or parts of 31 states and two Canadian provinces. The drainage basin empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
Major tributaries of the Mississippi:
Drainage areaThe Mississippi River drains most of the area between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains, except for the areas drained to the Hudson Bay via the Red River of the North, by the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, the Rio Grande (and numerous other rivers in Texas), the Alabama River-Tombigbee River, and the Chattahoochee River-Appalachicola River.
The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico about downstream from New Orleans. Measurements of the length of the Mississippi from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico vary somewhat, but the United States Geological Survey's number is . The retention time from Lake Itasca to the Gulf is about 90 days.
Outflow
Fresh river water flowing from the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico does not mix into the salt water immediately. The images from NASA's MODIS to the right show a large plume of fresh water, which appears as a dark ribbon against the lighter-blue surrounding waters.
The images demonstrate that the plume did not mix with the surrounding sea water immediately. Instead, it stayed intact as it flowed through the Gulf of Mexico, into the Straits of Florida, and entered the Gulf Stream. The Mississippi River water rounded the tip of Florida and traveled up the southeast coast to the latitude of Georgia before finally mixing in so thoroughly with the ocean that it could no longer be detected by MODIS.
DischargeThe Mississippi river discharges at an annual average rate of between 200,000 and 700,000 cu ft/s (7,000 to 20,000 m³/s).
Although it is the 5th largest river in the world by volume, this flow is a mere fraction of the output of the Amazon, which moves nearly 7 million cu ft/s (200,000 m³/s) during wet seasons.
On average the Mississippi has only 9% the flow of the Amazon River but is nearly twice that of the Columbia River and almost 6 times the volume of the Colorado River.
History
Course changes
The Illinoian Glacier, about 200,000 to 125,000 years before present, blocked the Mississippi near Rock Island, Illinois, diverting it to its present channel farther to the west, the current western border of Illinois.
The Hennepin Canal roughly follows the ancient channel of the Mississippi downstream from Rock Island to Hennepin. South of Hennepin, Illinois, the current Illinois River is actually following the ancient channel of the Mississippi River to Alton, Illinois, before the Illinoian glaciation.
Other changes in the course of the river have occurred because of earthquakes along the New Madrid Fault Zone, which lies between Memphis and St. Louis. Three earthquakes in 1811 and 1812, estimated at approximately 8 on the Richter Scale, were said to have temporarily reversed the course of the Mississippi.
The settlement of Reverie, Tennessee was cut off from Tipton County, Tennessee, during the 1811 and 1812 earthquakes and placed on the western side of the Mississippi River, the Arkansas side.
These earthquakes also created Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee from the altered landscape near the river. The faulting is related to an aulacogen (geologic term for a failed rift) that formed at the same time as the Gulf of Mexico.
Through a natural process known as delta switching the lower Mississippi River has shifted its final course to the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico every thousand years or so. This occurs because the deposits of silt and sediment begin to clog its channel, raising the river's level and causing it to eventually find a steeper, more direct route to the Gulf of Mexico. The abandoned distributary diminishes in volume and forms what are known as bayous. This process has, over the past 5,000 years, caused the coastline of south Louisian] to advance toward the Gulf from 15 to 50 mi (25 to 80 km). The currently active delta lobe is called the Birdfoot Delta, after its shape, or the Balize Delta, after La Balize, Louisiana, the first French settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi.
Native AmericansThe area of the Mississippi valley was first settled by Native American tribes such as the Ojibwa, the Cheyenne, the Mississippian Culture and the Chickasaw.
European exploration
On May 8, 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto became the first recorded European to reach the Mississippi River, which he called Rio de Espiritu Santo ("River of the Holy Spirit"), in the area of what is now Mississippi. In Spanish the river is called Rio Misisipi.
French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette began exploring the Mississippiin the 17th century. Marquette traveled with a Sioux named Ne Tongo ("Big river" in Sioux language) in 1673. Marquette proposed calling it the River of the Immaculate Conception.
In 1682, René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonty claimed the entire Mississippi River Valley for France, calling the river Colbert River after Jean-Baptiste Colbert and the region La Louisiane, for King Louis XIV. On March 2, 1699, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville rediscovered the mouth of the Mississippi, following the death of La Salle. The French built the small fort of La Balise there to control passage.
In 1718, about upriver, New Orleans was established along the river crescent by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, with construction patterned after the 1711 resettlement on Mobile Bay of Mobile, the capital of French Louisiana at the time.
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