1. Floating Down the river what do I see? I see a _______ looking at me!

2. The Mississippi River According to Mark Twain….it is a wonderful book!

3. Neat Facts About the MS River It is the largest and longest river in the United States. It flows from the northern part of the country (Minnesota) to the Gulf of Mexico ( more than 2,300 miles long). It forms a state line for ten states! It is the home to a variety of wildlife (Can you think of wildlife that might call the MS River home?)

4. Floating down the river what do I see? I see a Floodplain looking at me! A floodplain is land along a river that is flooded by the river’s waters during heavy rain or when snow melts. The silt (rock, sand, and mud) makes the land along the river very fertile. Fertile land is good for growing crops. Therefore, farm land is located along the sides of the Mississippi River. Cotton is one of the main crops grown in LA.

5. What does a floodplain look like?

6. What does cotton look like?

7. Floating down the river what do I see? I see Two Big Cities looking at me. As you float down the river you see LA’s largest cities: Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Both of these cities have large populations. Population is the number of people living in an area. Cities located along the river are called ports. A port is a place where ships can load and unload goods from all over the world.

8. New Orleans…one of the largest ports in the world!

9. Baton Rouge…Louisiana’s state capital!

10. Floating down the river what do I see? I see the Delta looking at me! Some people think the delta looks like a fan or a bird’s foot. The delta is the land at the mouth of the river, where it enters a larger body of water. The land of the delta is ALWAYS changing. New land forms at the delta as silt builds up at the mouth of the river. The waters from the Gulf of Mexico wash away land from the delta at the same time.

11. What do you think… a bird’s foot?

12. Floating down the river what do I see? I see the Gulf of Mexico looking at me! The Mississippi River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The journey has ended!

13. Floating Down the River Art Project! Now that you have journeyed down the river, you must create an illustration of something you would find along the Mississippi River. Your illustration must include the Mississippi River. It must be neat, colorful, and accurate. You must complete the following sentence…Floating down the river what do I see? Floating down the river I see a _________ looking at me!