Mississippi River NMGK-8 Program

What do you know about the Mississippi River? Who was the first European to explore the Mississippi River? In what year did he first explore the Mississippi? About how long is the Mississippi River? Where does the Upper Mississippi River begin and end? Where does the Lower Mississippi begin and end? How many people in the United States rely on the Mississippi River and its tributaries for drinking water? How did the Mississippi River get its name? What does the name mean? What famous document made most of the area along the Mississippi the property of the United States? What is the "Mississippi flyway"? How many states does the Mississippi River flow through? What are those states? What are the Mississippi headwaters? What famous Delta Blues musician gets his name from the lower portion of the Mississippi River?

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

Courtesy B.L. Johnson, USGS

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Windsor Plantation

A Mississippi treasure, built in 1859-61 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.

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.

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.

New Madrid

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.

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.

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.

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 world’s 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 America’s 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. That’s 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. 

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