The first known European to travel on the Mississippi River was the Spaniard Hernando de Soto, who crossed the river near present-day Memphis in May 1541. The name "Mississippi," meaning "great river" or "gathering of water," is attributed to the Ojibwe (Chippewa). The Mississippi River played an important role in the lives of many Native Americans who lived in the Upper Mississippi Valley, such as the Santee Dakota, the Illinois, the Kickapoo, and the Ojibwe, as well as those tribes in the southern valley, such as the Chicksaw, the Choctaw, the Tunica, and the Natchez. Annually, the Mississippi River discharges about 133 cubic miles of water (approximately 640,000 cubic feet per second). The most prominent of these are known as the North Pass, South Pass, Southwest Pass, and Main Pass. South of the city of New Orleans, the Mississippi creates several channels, known as distributaries, which then flow separately into the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River delta covers approximately 13,000 square miles. Near Fort Adams, Mississippi, the Red River joins with the Mississippi, diverting with it about a quarter of the flow of the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River.Īs the Mississippi River nears the Gulf of Mexico it creates a large delta with its silt. South of Memphis, Tennessee, the Arkansas River junctions with the Mississippi River. In many areas, the silt builds up to create natural levees. As it flows in this southern region, the Mississippi deposits rich silt along its banks. In this area, the river meanders its way south and over time has continuously changed its course, leaving behind numerous oxbow lakes as remnants of its past. The Lower Mississippi Valley is a wide and fertile region. At this point, the Mississippiīecomes brown and muddy for the rest of the journey south.Īt Cairo, Illinois, the Ohio River flows into the Mississippi, doubling its volume and creating the point that divides the Upper Mississippi from the Lower Mississippi. The muddy waters of the Missouri River flow into the clear waters of the Mississippi River just north of St. The river begins to flow southward near Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and is joined with the Minnesota River between the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The river initially flows north and then east as the means of connecting several lakes in northern Minnesota. The Mississippi River actually begins as a small stream flowing from Lake Itasca, Minnesota. This drainage basin (approximately 1,234,700 square miles) covers about 40 percent of the United States and ranks as the fifth largest in the world. The Mississippi River system drains the agricultural plains between the Appalachian Mountains to the east and the Rocky Mountains to the west. The length of the Mississippi River from its source in Lake Itasca in northwestern Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico flows 2,348 miles it is the second longest river in the United States behind the Missouri (2,466 miles). One of the major rivers of North America, the Mississippi River has been a focal point in American history, commerce, agriculture, literature, and environmental awareness. No longer in print, older editions circulate, finding their way into collections like ours or passed down through families.MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Since its publication, its popularity has made it one of the first places many children since the 1950s first learned about the river. While Minn travels the Mississippi exploring its past along the way the book itself has become a piece of the river’s history. She encounters boats, hunters, locks and dams, and more, as she discovers the various environments of the river. Over 25 years she meets all kinds of creatures and the ones that appear the most are the people of the river towns. Part- natural history and adventure, Minn of the Mississippi, follows a snapping turtle from the headwaters of Minnesota down the 2,340 miles of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. Located in the National River Center, the Bowell Library holds over 4,000 books on topics ranging from navigation, river history and travel narratives, to cookbooks and novels. In recognition of March’s National Read Across America Day, this spotlight features a title from the Captain William D. Resources for Historical Societies and Museums.National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.
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