Photo: FMR
The mighty Mississippi River
The Mississippi River, flowing approximately 2,350 miles from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico, has long been one of the defining natural features of the United States. The Ojibwe Indians of northern Minnesota called it “Messipi” or “Big River,” and it was also known as the “Mee-zee-see-bee” or the “Father of Waters.”1
The Mississippi River watershed
Today, the river drains all or part of 31 states and two Canadian provinces, or about 41% of the area of the lower 48 states. The river represents one of the most diverse and important natural resources in the U.S., serving as the migratory flyway for more than 40% all North American waterfowl and shorebirds. The river is also home to at least 260 species of fish, 50 mammal species, 145 species of amphibians and reptiles, and 38 species of mussel.2
Map data: ESRI, Natural Earth (naturalearthdata.com), NOAA
The Mississippi River system is a vital public resource, and is essential in sustaining our nation’s economy. Fifty U.S. cities rely on the Mississippi for daily water supply, including roughly 1,000,000 Minnesotans.3 The 29 locks and dams on the Mississippi allow for navigation from St. Louis, Mo., to Minneapolis, Minn. To move goods up and down the Mississippi, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a 9-foot shipping channel from Baton Rouge, La. to Minneapolis. Roughly 60% of grain exported from the U.S. is transported and shipped from the Mississippi River,4 along with billions of dollars’ worth of freight each year.
“The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable.” -Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
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