MISSISSIPPI RIVER: THE BIG RIVER THAT CROSSES AMERICA.

                                                               

The Mississippi River, one of the most famous rivers in the world, forms the largest drainage system in North America, flowing southwards along 3.730 kms. from Northern Minnesota to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico.

                                                                                 

 It is the second longest river in North America, slightly shorter than its tributary the Missouri River. At its widest point, the Mississippi River stretches out over 11 kms. in width.

                                                                   

The Mississippi River watershed is the fourth largest in the world, extending from the Allegheny Mountains in the East to the Rocky Mountains in the West and including all or parts of 31 states and two Canadian provinces.

                                                                       

It goes across ten US states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana and it was used to define borders between them.


                                                                   

The word Mississippi comes from the French rendering of the Native American name for the river, Misiziibi, (Great River). It would not be until 1541 when the first European reached the river (Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto). Later colonization of the areas bordering the river took place in the following centuries, carried out by French and British.

                                                                     

We cannot speak about the Mississippi River without referring to the Steamboat era (between 1830 and 1870). During all these years, steamboat transport, both of passengers and of freight was a viable industry and contributed to give the river one of its most legendary images. Modern ships finished this era, which is probably the most iconic one in the history of the river.

                                                                       

                                                                     
The main cities to be crossed by the "Big River" are Minneapolis, St. Louis, Memphis or New Orleans. The first bridge across the mississippi River was built in 1855, in Minneapolis.

                                                           

View of downtown Memphis with the Hernando de Soto Bridge
over the Mississippi River

                                                      When The Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin)

                                                                         Big River (Johnny Cash)

                                                                       

                                                             Mississippi River (JJ Cale)

                                                                    The Great Flood of 1927