Mississippi River

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Mississippi River

• NMGK-8 Program

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What do you know about the Mississippi River?

1. Who was the first European to explore the
   Mississippi River?
2. In what year did he first explore the
   Mississippi?
3. About how long is the Mississippi River?
4. Where does the Upper Mississippi River begin and
   end?
5. Where does the Lower Mississippi begin and end?
6. How many people in the United States rely on the
   Mississippi River and its tributaries for
   drinking water?
7. How did the Mississippi River get its name? What
   does the name mean?
8. What famous document made most of the area along
   the Mississippi the property of the United
   States?
9. What is the "Mississippi flyway"?
10. How many states does the Mississippi River flow
    through?
11. What are those states?
12. What are the Mississippi headwaters?
13. What famous Delta Blues musician gets his name
    from the lower portion of the Mississippi River?

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• The word Mississippi comes from the Ojibway name
  for the river, "Messipi", which meant
• big river

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(No Transcript)
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Courtesy B.L. Johnson, USGS
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Windsor Plantation
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• A Mississippi treasure, built in 1859-61. The
  Windsor plantation once covered over 2,600 acres.
  It is said that from a roof observatory, Mark
  Twain used to stand and muse while overlooking
  the Mississippi River in the distance.

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History

• The first Europeans to see the river inland were
  Hernando DE SOTO and his party in 1541.
• In the late 17th century, the Frenchmen Jacques
  MARQUETTE and Louis JOLLIET (1673) and the sieur
  de LA SALLE explored the river from the north La
  Salle, who reached the mouth of the Mississippi
  in 1682, claimed the whole valley for France.
• The western part of the basin was purchased from
  France by the United States in 1803 (see
  LOUISIANA PURCHASE) and was explored by the LEWIS
  AND CLARK EXPEDITION.
• Among the original Indian tribes living along the
  Mississippi were the OJIBWA, WINNEBAGO, FOX,
  SAUK, CHOCTAW, CHICKASAW, NATCHEZ, and ALABAMA.

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• No river has played a greater part in the
  development and expansion of America than the
  Mississippi. In 1705 the first cargo was floated
  down the river from the Indian country around
  Wabash, now the states of Indiana and Ohio. This
  was a load of 15,000 bear and deer hides brought
  downstream for shipment to France.
• Invention of the steamboat in the early
  nineteenth century brought about a revolution in
  river commerce. The first steamboat to travel the
  Mississippi was the "New Orleans."
• The Mississippi River is the main stem of a
  network of inland navigable waterways which form
  a system of about 12,350 miles in length, not
  including the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway of 1,173
  miles.
• Waterborne commerce on the Mississippi rose from
  30 million tons in 1940 to almost 400 million in
  1984. This heavy commercial traffic includes
  grains, coal and coke, petroleum products, sand
  and gravel, salt, sulphur and chemicals, and
  building materials among others. In addition,
  many pleasure craft from all parts of the country
  now use the Mississippi for vacation and travel.

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New Madrid
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1811-1812

• Three earthquakes occurred in 1811 and 1812 near
  New Madrid, MO. They are among the Great
  earthquakes of known history, affecting the
  topography more than any other earthquake on the
  North American continent. Judging from their
  effects, they were of a magnitude of 8.0 or
  higher on the Richter Scale. They were felt over
  the entire United States outside of the Pacific
  coast. Large areas sank into the earth, new lakes
  were formed, the course of the Mississippi River
  was changed, and forests were destroyed over an
  area of 150,000 acres. Many houses at New Madrid
  were thrown down. "Houses, gardens, and fields
  were swallowed up" one source notes.

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• Survivors reported that the earthquakes caused
  cracks to open in the earth's surface, the ground
  to roll in visible waves, and large areas of land
  to sink or rise. The crew of the New Orleans (the
  first steamboat on the Mississippi, which was on
  her maiden voyage) reported mooring to an island
  only to awake in the morning and find that the
  island had disappeared below the waters of the
  Mississippi River. Damage was reported as far
  away as Charleston, South Carolina, and
  Washington, D.C.

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Commerce

• A full tow of barges on the Upper Mississippi
  River is 3 barges wide and 5 barges long. 
• This tow is a 1/4 mile in length, the pilot, who
  navigates from the pilot house 3 stories above
  the water, has a blind spot of 1000 feet in front
  of the barge head. This means he is actually
  steering his tow to a point a half mile in front
  of him.
• Each barge holds 1500 tons, the equivalent of 15
  railroad cars or 58 semi trailers. 
• A full tow of 15 barges carries the equivalent of
  225 railroad cars or 870 semi trailers.

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River Facts

• The Mississippi passes through ten states. From
  north to south Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa,
  Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee,
  Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. 
• The Mississippi--Missouri River system is the
  worlds fourth longest. Only the Nile, Amazon and
  Yangtze Rivers are longer. 
• The Mississippi River drains approximately 40 of
  the continental United States-all or part of 31
  states, and two Canadian provinces, Ontario and
  Manitoba. 
• The total drainage area of the Mississippi River
  is approximately 1.25 million square miles. 
• The Mississippi releases 2.3 million cubic feet
  of water per second into the Gulf of Mexico and
  more than 400-million cubic yards of mud, sand
  and gravel each year. 
• The Mississippi River provides transport for more
  than 472-million tons of cargo each year,
  including 46 of the grain exported from the
  United States. 
• More than 12 million people live in the 125
  counties and parishes that border the Mississippi
  River. 
• The Mississippi River valley generates over 7
  billion in agricultural and forest products and
  29 million in manufacturing goods each year. 
• The Mississippi is a major flyway for migratory
  birds. It is used by up to 40 of North Americas
  duck, goose, swan and eagle population. 
• Waterfowl hunting in the flyway is valued at 58
  million per year and sport fishing is valued at
  over 100 million annually. 
• The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife
  Refuge reports 3.5 million visits a year. Thats
  more than the number of visits to Yellowstone
  National Park. 
• International visitors spend an estimated 2.6
  billion each year throughout the ten river
  states, generating more than 53,000 jobs. 
• The Mississippi River is a water source for over
  4 million people. 
• A system of 29 locks and dams control navigation
  on the Upper Mississippi between Minneapolis,
  Minnesota and St. Louis, Missouri. 

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Answers

1. Hernando de Soto,
2. 1541
3. about 2,350 miles
4. from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Cairo, Illinois
5. from Cairo, Illinois, to New Orleans, Louisiana,
   and the Gulf of Mexico
6. 18 million
7. Native Americans gave the river the name
   Mississippi, meaning "Big River
8. Louisiana Purchase
9. a migration corridor used by 40 percent of North
   America's waterfowl and shorebirds
10. ten
11. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois,
    Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and
    Louisiana
12. the first 400 miles of the river
13. Muddy Waters