Mississippi River

The Mississippi or Mississippi is a long river in the central United States that flows south through ten states—Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana—to empty into the Gulf of Mexico (Atlantic Ocean) near New Orleans. It has a length of 3,734 km, but if the Mississippi-Missouri system is considered it reaches 6,275 km, which makes it the fourth longest in the world, after the Amazon, Nile and Yangtze rivers.

It drains a basin of 3,238,000 km², the fourth largest in the world, behind the Amazon (6,145,000 km²), Congo (3,700,000 km²) and Nile (3,255,000 km²).

During pre-Columbian times it was already an important navigation route and the Amerindians called it "Meschacebé" which means "father of the waters". Today, it is a fundamental element of the American economy and culture.

On September 11, 1997, President Bill Clinton designated two sections of this river, the Upper and Lower Mississippi, as one of fourteen rivers that make up the American Heritage River System.

Geography

Its source is located at the northern end of Lake Itasca (northern Minnesota), at 450 m s. no. m.. The river soon reaches 700 feet after the San Antonio Falls near Minneapolis and is joined by the Illinois and Missouri Rivers at St. Louis, Missouri and the Ohio at Cairo, Illinois.

Lake "of horseshoe"oxbow) formed of an ancient meander of Mississippi.

The course of the river can be divided into two parts: the upper Mississippi, from its source to the confluence with the Ohio, and the lower Mississippi, from the Ohio to its mouth. The river describes numerous meanders, in particular between Memphis (Tennessee) and the delta. The vast majority belong to the category of alluvial plain meanders (also called free or wandering meanders), that is, they have their origin in the dynamics of the course itself; they are highly mobile meanders that concern wet or abandoned sectors. such as the "bayous" of the South. In several places, certain meanders were cut and left dead arms called oxbow or "horseshoe-shaped lakes".

The lower part is complex: bayous, lakes, forks, tributaries...

Watershed

The Mississippi and the ten states it is going through or the border.

Its hydrographic basin is the largest in North America and the fourth in the world, after the Amazon, Congo and Nile. Its total area is 3,238,000 km², that is, one third of the territory of the United States. The Mississippi Basin drains water from 31 states and is the source of 23% of the United States' public surface water supply. It is divided into six sub-basins, corresponding to the lower and upper reaches, as well as major tributaries: the Missouri (4,370 km), the Arkansas, the Ohio, etc. Finally, the river system's floodplain measures about 90,000 km². More than 72 million people live in its basin, that is, one in four citizens of the United States.

Drains most of the area between the Rocky Mountains and Appalachians, except for the area near the Great Lakes. It crosses or skirts ten states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana) before flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, 100 miles downriver from New Orleans. It takes about 90 days for a drop of rain falling on Lake Itasca to reach the Gulf of Mexico.

Hydrological regime and flow

It is a river with a significant flow and powerful floods, taking into account the nature of the basin it bathes. The latter actually belong to the temperate zone and not to the intertropical zone like the Amazon or the Congo. These rivers have a flow much higher than the Mississippi, due to the abundance of rainfall on their basins. Even the Orinoco River, which has a basin almost four times smaller and a length just over a third of that of the Mississippi-Missouri, has an average flow of almost double that of that river.

The hydrological regime is complex since the river is fed by very different tributaries: the upper course has a rainfall regime while the lower course crosses a humid subtropical region. Rocky Mountain snows in spring. Its lower part is fed by abundant rains in summer and early autumn, with cyclonic risks in the southernmost part.

Consequently, the flow of the Mississippi is characterized by large variations depending on location and season; it generally oscillates between 8,000 m³/s and 50,000 m³/s. At the mouth the average flow is 18,000 m³/s, which is a lot for a river located in the temperate zone, and ranks sixth in the world for its flow. But during the flood period, the flow can easily rise to 70,000 m³/s, even reaching 300,000 m³/s during the flood of 1927. The Ohio River contributes more than half of the total flow of the Mississippi (8000 m³/s). Finally, mention that its average interannual flow, referred to the extension of its hydrographic basin, is 5.9 liters per second and per km².

Average monthly rate of Mississippi at Vicksburg hydrological station (Data calculated between 1928 and 1983, in m3/s)

Sediment transport

The Mississippi carries alluvium composed of sand and gravel that comes largely from the Rocky Mountains. Solid sediments dumped into the Gulf of Mexico range from 312 to 450 million tons per year. It is because of these materials which the numerous islands and their delta are formed. Throughout most of the river the slope is medium or not very pronounced, for which the sedimentary deposits are relatively important. This solid flow is mixed, composed of suspended particles and bottom sediments. In total, in a year, the river transports 131 million tons of materials suspended in the water, two times less than the Amazon.

Course Description

Birth

The birth of Mississippi at Lake Itasca.

The sector located upriver from Minneapolis, in Minnesota, is close to the source of the river. The river rises in the north of Lake Itasca at about 450 meters above sea level. The climate in this region is continental in type and is influenced by polar air masses in winter, which means that it is often freezing at that time of year. At its source it is just a small river with clear waters; but as it progresses, the river grows, loaded with alluvium and organic particles and turns reddish brown, progressively losing its natural and wild character.

This first part of the river descends the greatest unevenness of its course. It crosses swampy areas, lakes and rapids populated by numerous species of fish, birds and mammals. The vegetation in this sector includes pines, alders, wild rice and colonies of cattails. Between the cities of Aitkin and Brainerd, in Minnesota, the river crosses a region of hills, moraine relief covered with forests, plains of glacial origin, and dune and swampy sectors. Before human exploitation, coniferous forests covered this region.

Advanced course

Main tributaries of Mississippi
Name	Length (km)
Río Misuri	4370
River Arkansas	2334
Red River	2190
Ohio-Allegheny System	2108
Rio Blanco	1162
Rio Des Moines	845
River Wisconsin	692
Saint Francis	684
Illinois-Des Plaines System	680
Río Minesota	534
Kaskaskia River	515
Rio Iowa	482
Rio Rock	459
River Wapsipinicon	362
Yazoo River	302
At the end of this article there is an appendix with all the tributaries of the Mississippi basin of more than 300 km, geographically ordered in the downstream sense.

The Falls of San AntonioSaint Anthony Falls)

The upper course (Upper Mississippi River) runs from San Antonio Falls (in Minneapolis) to the mouth of the Ohio River, near the city of Cairo in the state of Illinois. It travels 1462 km following a trajectory in a south-east direction. The river's regime is pluvionival with floods in spring and stormy rains in summer. The channel widens considerably after the confluence of the Minnesota. The river flows through a deep valley carved out of sedimentary beds in a region unaffected by Wisconsin glaciers. Lake Pepin, which was formed about 9,500 years ago, stretches for about 35 km in length with an average depth of five meters. It has the capacity to retain a part of the sediments and the pollution that comes from the highest part.

Just north of St. Louis, the Missouri meets the Mississippi from the west. The waters of the Missouri are loaded with sediments and particles removed by erosion. In the 1950s-1960s, the construction of large dams in the Missouri watershed formed deposits that retain alluvium. Human developments greatly affected the upper Mississippi and its floodplain.

The Ohio confluence (to the right in the image) and the Mississippi.

Thus, the river received more sediment, while the channel increased due to urbanization and drainage of the marshes. The construction of dikes and channelization increased the sedimentation of the riverbed. The floodplain has also been transformed by the construction of embankments in order to protect human facilities from flooding. Farmland has long replaced wetlands and forests; the latter are currently restricted to river banks or islands and are no more than a few kilometers wide. However, efforts to qualify portions of the banks as protected nature reserves allowed 800 km² of the upper river valley to be safeguarded. The main tree species are: silver maple, green ash, American elm, black willow, cottonwood, maple, black birch, hackberry, etc. Aquatic vegetation includes cattails, water lilies, elodeas, vallisneria americana, etc. The common loosestrife is a plant of European origin, introduced at the beginning of the 20th century along its shores.

Lower Course

Pantano and forest of calvo cypresses in southern Louisiana.

Map of the lower course of the Mississippi.

The lower course (Lower Mississippi River) runs south of the confluence with the Missouri. The Mississippi continues its trajectory to the southeast and later to the south after the confluence with the Arkansas. The floodplain is characterized by numerous mud-laden meanders that are three times the length of the course. It is a relatively wide sector, gently sloping towards the Gulf of Mexico, dominated by low-lying alluvial terraces. The altitudes are not very considerable, generally a few tens of meters above the mean sea level. Apart from the cleared sectors, large swamp and forest areas remain. We also find numerous horseshoe lakes and wide meanders. In southern Cairo, the floodplain widens and shallows due to erosion of tertiary beds called bluffs. In the lower Mississippi, numerous tributaries run parallel to the river along for quite a long distance, before finally flowing into the river. To the south it is subject to a tropical climate marked by cyclones at the end of summer and beginning of autumn. Winter frost generally avoids this region. The landscape is characterized by wet and swampy areas, often unhealthy, in the Mississippi delta and the bayou: these are abandoned arms and meanders by the river, forming long pathways of stagnant water and constituting in total a navigable network of several thousands of kilometers

Delta

The delta of the Mississippi, seen from space (false colors).

Its delta covers an area of 75,000 km² (more than 400 km wide —from east to west— and 200 km deep —from north to south—), on which some 2.2 million inhabitants live, the majority in the city of New Orleans. Compared to other deltas, however, the region's population density is relatively sparse.

The mouth has moved many times throughout history. In 5,000 years, the river changed its mouth nine times, and the current one dates only to the 10th century. When a canal was built in the early 19th century, the river sought to reunite the bed and mouth of the Atchafalaya River, 95 km from New Orleans.

The delta advances approximately 100 m a year, fed by the 730 million tons of alluvium that it deposits at a rate of 6 dm a year on the bottom of its bed, which makes constant dredging necessary to ensure navigation. These deposits form an immense alluvial fan that gains ground over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico due to the shallowness of the waters and the low amplitude of the tides. Silt and mud prevent the river from meandering.

Its deltaic plain includes the Louisiana coastal marshes and covers 28,568 km². It is characterized by a complex network of arms and natural uplift radiating downriver from Baton Rouge.

Communities along the river

The Mississippi River is a major waterway along which many major American settlements have historically been concentrated, such as Memphis, TN (pop. 646,889), Minneapolis, MN (382,578 pop.), New Orleans, LA (343,829 pop..), St. Louis, MO (319,294 pop.), Saint Paul, MN (285,068 pop.) and Baton Rouge (LA) (229,553 pop.).

The main metropolitan areas in its immediate vicinity are the following:

Many of the communities along the Mississippi River are listed below; most have a historical significance or cultural tradition that links them to the river. They are sequenced from the source of the river to its end and the inhabitants all correspond to the 2010 Census (with an asterisk those of another date). Towns with more than 20,000 inhabitants are highlighted in bold.

Natural environment

Flora and fauna

The Mississippi River and its floodplain are home to rich flora and fauna that make up the largest continuous system of marshes on the North American continent. The at least 260 species of fish that live in the river make up a quarter of all that exist in North America. The river serves as a passage for the migration of numerous birds: 60% of North American birds (326 species) they use the Mississippi basin in their migrations. In the lower course we can count 60 different species of mussels. The upper reaches are home to more than 50 species of mammals and 145 species of amphibians and reptiles (including the well-known alligator, whose species is thriving again after being threatened with extinction in the middle of the century XX). Throughout the Mississippi Valley we find mammals such as the beaver, the boreal raccoon, the river otter, the American mink, the red fox, the muskrat or the striped skunk. Other animals are common in North America: the coyote, the Virginia deer, the gray squirrel, the chipmunk, the southern flying squirrel or the lynx.

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  mapche boreal

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  river otter

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  scratched squirrel

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  castor

Preservation of the natural environment

Much portions of the river are preserved as nature preserves, and much of it is still wooded and flooded. The upper reaches ecosystem is protected by the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, which it extends from Wabasha (Minnesota) to Rock Island (Illinois) with a distance of about 500 km. This reserve covers nearly 80,000 hectares located in four different states, and is responsible for the protection of very diverse environments (marshes, wetlands, lakes, alluvial plain forests, sandy beaches, and springs).

However, the fluvial environment has been transformed by human beings to suit their navigation needs and economic development: a large part of the alluvial plain suffers from the excesses of intensive agriculture and the tributaries discharge significant amounts into it of alluvium, fertilizers and pesticides. Urban agglomerations and riverside industrial estates are also a source of pollution. However, according to a study conducted by the US Geological Survey, wastewater emissions have decreased in the upper reaches of the river (formerly St. Louis) since the adoption of the Clean Water Act in 1972. The situation is less satisfactory in San Luis where the coliform concentrations are important. Concentrations of pesticides and herbicides come from agricultural activity: these increase below the confluence with the Missouri, as the latter drains the grain-growing region of the Great Plains. EDTA, used in the paper, photographic or food industry, is less present in the Mississippi than in the great rivers of Europe. PCBs persist in sediments despite their ban. A portion of the nitrogen and phosphorus present in the lower stream comes from the Ohio which drains industrial and agricultural regions.

Conditioning of the river and its consequences

The great works to condition the Mississippi and its tributaries have a triple objective: limit flooding, favor navigation and fight against the erosion of the banks.

Fight against floods

The Mississippi, the Missouri and the Illinois River near San Luis during the 1993 floods.

The same location in September 2002 in a Landsat image.

The projects that aim to reduce the effects of its overflows are old and numerous. At the beginning of the 19th century, the idea of channeling the river is predominant: founded in 1775, the Corps of Engineers of the Army of The United States (United States Army Corps of Engineers) undertakes several studies and initiates great works between 1812 and 1815. We must wait for the 1860s to see the birth of a debate among those who want to direct its course (James Buchanan Eads for example) and those who don't (Andrew Humphrey); the first option ultimately prevails. Large works are undertaken between 1875 and 1880 in the delta region. Today, the United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains these levees to preserve the normal course of the river. However, the effect of the dikes is ineffective when the river level rises.

The flood of 1927 reveals the problem. It is then decided to transfer part of the waters of the Mississippi to its tributary, the Atchafalaya River (Project Flood). The works are also aimed at pouring a large amount of water into the delta lakes. A system of stations also makes it possible to monitor the level of the river and give an alert in case of problems.

The upper course has been conditioned with 37 dams and locks (the majority built in the 1930s), in order to maintain a three meter deep channel for river traffic. Artificial lakes have also been built to be used for fishing and other nautical leisure activities. The dams, on the other hand, do not have the function of regulating the course of the river. In the flood period, they are simply open and stop working. After San Luis the course of the river is less channeled, although it is often flanked by dikes.

Other changes occurred in response to earthquakes along the New Madrid fault line near Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis. In 1811 and 1812, earthquakes known as the "New Madrid earthquakes" reached magnitude 8, and it is claimed that for a moment they reversed the direction of the river's current. These cataclysms also created Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee. With the exception of Davenport, most of the cities that border the river are protected by raised docks or levees.

Important communication channel of the United States

If it was the object of colossal refurbishment works, it is also because it is an essential communication channel for the country. Ten percent of the merchandise of the United States is transported over its course. Since pre-Columbian times, the Mississippi has been a fundamental means of transporting goods. Its meridian orientation makes it an essential axis of penetration to the North American continent and an access route to the Great Lakes. Located at its mouth, New Orleans developed thanks to this strategic location. Today about half of the Missouri-Mississippi river system is navigable. Ships of 2.7 m draft can use their course and go up to Minneapolis.

Starting in 1878, 29 locks were built between Minneapolis and St. Louis to allow ships to navigate upstream to Minneapolis. Between 1929 and 1942, 16 meanders were removed in the lower course to shorten the The ships traveled about 240 km. The consequences of these works were an increase in the slope and erosion capacity upstream, and sedimentation downstream.

The entire hydrographic network of the Mississippi and its tributaries reaches 8,000 km in length. A navigation channel joins it with Lake Michigan (at the height of Chicago), thus connecting the Mississippi with the Great Lakes. Another canal, the Illinois Waterway, runs from the mouth of the Chicago River to the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi. In the south it connects Florida and Texas through a side channel, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Several highways connect the urban centers of the Mississippi with the different maritime fronts of the country.

Economy

The main economic activities in the Mississippi Valley are industry, tourism, agriculture, and aquaculture.

Primary sector

The primary sector includes activities linked to river fishing and aquaculture (crayfish, suribí, oysters, etc.) in the southern states. The Empire-Venice port located on the delta is the first in the region in volume and the sixth in the United States in value. In the marine environment, the main species caught are sea crab, shrimp and alosa, on which its biotope is closely dependent on the Mississippi.

The production of wood for paper or construction material is important especially in Louisiana, in the state of Mississippi and in Arkansas. The forests of the upper course are better preserved. Hunting has been done since ancient times, and is still practiced in the Mississippi Valley, especially for fur-bearing animals (raccoons, muskrats, nutria), but also for alligators whose hunting was legalized again in 1972. Louisiana produced a total of 32,500 skins in 2002.

Products grown in the Mississippi Valley vary with latitude: in the south, the subtropical climate allows for the cultivation of rice, sugarcane, and cotton. In certain sectors (Arkansas), irrigation is necessary. But, in general, the counties that surround the Mississippi are dedicated especially to the cultivation of cereals, particularly soybeans and corn. The crops are easily exported by waterway. The central part of the Mississippi basin is also a ranching region, an activity that is a source of pollution (nitrates) for the river.

Mineral and hydrocarbon resources are concentrated in the South: Louisiana is one of the main producers of oil, natural gas and salt in the United States. The 23,000 wells in Plaquemines (Mississippi Delta) produced more than 21 million barrels of crude oil in 2001. The Mississippi Plain also provides clay (Louisiana, Missouri), sand, and gravel. In the upper reaches, iron ore (Minnesota) and bituminous coal and anthracite deposits (Illinois) are also mined.

Secondary sector and energy production

Refinery close to New Orleans.

Power plants in the Mississippi Valley are largely coal-fired. The most important units are located near the large urban centers. They use the river water for cooling. On the lower course there are 92 power plants that use fossil fuels, 14 biomass and three nuclear power plants. The Keokuk (Iowa) hydroelectric plant is the only one of its kind throughout its entire course: it was built in 1913 and produces 105 megawatts each year.

Industry is the main economic activity in value and number of employees. The main industrial centers are located in the large agglomerations. The Mississippi plays a very important role in the location of industries: it allows the transportation of raw materials and finished or semi-finished products. In addition, water is used in numerous activities, such as paper manufacturing (Memphis and Baton Rouge) or refining. On the lower course of the river, the main industries are chemicals (the first industry in value; eg: plastics, fertilizers), the agri-food industry (the first sector in number of employees; eg: seafood, soybean products, beverages), oil processing, and transportation (shipbuilding in Avondale, Louisiana). 75 petrochemical facilities and refineries (Shell in Norco, Louisiana and in St. Rose, Louisiana) are located in the corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, generating significant pollution.

Tertiary sector and commercial shipping

The tertiary sector is dominated by tourism, leisure and commercial shipping: in 1996, at the Dresbach lock in Wisconsin, total traffic was 13.9 million tons, including 9.5 million tons of agricultural products (mainly corn). Ships transport bulk (cereals, coal, oil) or containerized consumer goods, machines as well as chemicals. River traffic does not stop growing: it went from 70 million tons in 1960 to 500 million tons in 2000. This dynamism is remarkable compared to the traffic on other rivers.

The Delta Queen attracted to Mud Island, Memphis, Tennessee, in May 2003.

Several fluvial ports were developed at the points of confluence or at the points of load breaking between different modes of transport. The most modest have only a few walls that act as docks. Large port industrial complexes are found in major cities. The main river and sea terminals are in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. These ports mainly export grain. The hinterlands of the Mississippi represent 23,000 km of navigable network connected by 800 companies. 100,000 barges pass through the port of New Orleans each year. Certain barge convoys can reach 15,000 tons. 60% of grain exported by the United States are transported through its course to the ports of New Orleans and South Louisiana: the total traffic of these two ports is respectively 49 and 98 million tons in 2000.

The many state parks and nature preserves of the Mississippi Valley attract tourists and locals alike. The diversity of the historical heritage (prehistoric sites, forts, ships, plantations, cities with historic neighborhoods such as New Orleans, attract many visitors and stimulate the economy of the region. The cultural heritage constitutes one of the riches of its valley: Amerindian traditions, the gastronomy of Louisiana, the musical heritage in Memphis (blues), etc. The tourist route called «The Great River Road» runs along the river showing the local culture and offering multiple recreational options. It is also possible to travel the river by boat, for example on the famous Delta Queen (which is listed as a National Historic Site.) The banks also have several casinos that each year enter several hundred of billions of dollars and provide thousands of jobs.

History

Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi.

Pre-Columbian history

The earliest traces of Amerindian occupation are ancient: archaeologists found traces of indigenous settlers in the delta dating back at least 11,000 years. The Mississippian civilization, assimilated into the mound builder culture, was known for its large earthen mound constructions (Poverty Point Archaeological Sites or Jaketown Site), still in use by the Natchez at the time of French colonization of Louisiana (New France). But the largest city was Cahokia, which had a population between 15 and 30,000 inhabitants in the 12th century. they also carried logs floating on the river. In Cahokia they traded for copper, mother-of-pearl, bison and elk meat. The river and its tributaries also provided fish.

When the French explored the Mississippi, they found several Native American peoples: the Sioux in the north, Quapaws at the mouth of the Arkansas, Tamarois at the confluence with the Missouri, Choctaws on the lower Mississippi, or Bayagoulas in the delta.

European exploration and colonization

On May 8, 1541, Hernando de Soto was the first European to reach the Mississippi, which he named Great River of the Holy Spirit. Starting in the 1660s, France decides to intrude on the Spanish territories of the Gulf of Mexico, thus reaching what is now Canada. The objectives were to find a passage to China (Northwest Passage), exploit the natural wealth of the conquered territories (skins, minerals) and evangelize the native populations.

On May 17, 1673, the Frenchmen Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette began exploring the river, which they knew under the Sioux name Ne Tongo ("the great river") and which they called "Colbert River". They reached the mouth of the Arkansas and went back up the river after verifying that it flowed towards the Gulf of Mexico and not towards the "Sea of California" (Pacific Ocean). A few years later, in 1682, Cavelier de La Salle and Henri de Tonti also descended the Mississippi to its delta. They build the Fort Prud'homme that will later become the city of Memphis. In April 1682, the expedition reached its mouth; Cavelier de La Salle had a cross and a column erected bearing the arms of the King of France: French sovereignty extended from that moment to the entire Mississippi valley, called "Louisiane" (Louisiana) in honor of King Louis XIV. The expedition uses the same road to Canada and La Salle returns to Versailles. There, the latter convinces the Minister of the Navy to grant him command of Louisiana. He makes her believe that it is close to New Spain by drawing a map on which the Mississippi appears much further west than its actual course. He launches a new expedition, but it is headed for disaster: Cavelier de La Salle fails to find his delta again and is assassinated in 1687.

In 1698, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville explored its mouth. Twenty years later, his brother Jean-Baptiste sends a new expedition to Louisiana. He founded the city of New Orleans, named after the regent, the Duke of Orleans, as well as a fort near present-day Baton Rouge. At the beginning of the 18th century, John Law created the Company of the West or "Company of the Mississippi". Black slaves are transported from the Antilles to work on the plantations. Other cities are founded by the French, such as San Luis (1764).

Progressively, the French imposed their presence by building forts or trading posts in strategic positions on the river: Fort Beauharnois on the upper course of the river, Cahokia at the confluence with the Missouri, or Fort de Chartres on the banks of the Meramec River.

The Treaties of Utrecht (1712-1714) put an end to the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe and consecrated the regression of French power in the area. Louisiana remains French, but uneasy about the growing influence of the British colonies. The king tries to contain this influence east of the Appalachians. He tries an approximation with New Spain, located to the west of Louisiana. This policy is motivated by his family ties but also by the desire to profit from the mines and trade in the Spanish colonies.

The Treaty of Paris (1763) put an end to the Seven Years' War and established the cession to the Kingdom of Great Britain of the entire part of the valley east of the Mississippi and to Spain the western lands, according to the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762). During the American War of Independence, the Spanish allowed the colonists to use the river and the port of New Orleans. Once the war was over, the Spanish closed it to American commerce on June 26, 1784, not reestablishing it until the signing of the Treaty of San Lorenzo (1795). However, Louisiana is returned to France through the Treaty of San Ildefonso (1800), although Spain continues to administer it; three years later, Napoleon will sell the huge colony to the United States for 15 million dollars, equivalent to (80 million francs) of the time. Such an operation is known as the Louisiana Purchase. From the east, the United States was already planning to conquer the west: in 1795, commercial shipping through its course was open to Americans. In 1805, the US Army built Fort Snelling on the site of the present Minneapolis city.

19th century to the present day

Lithography representing the Mississippi River Squadron forcing the confederate blockade of Vicksburg during the War of Secession.

In the 19th century, the Mississippi is known for the bandits that swarmed around it, including the murderer John Murrell, a horse thief and slave trader of the time, who had his headquarters on an island. His notoriety was such that Mark Twain devoted a chapter of his book Life on the Mississippi to him. This book also recounts the races of steamboats (riverboats or steamboats) between the years 1830 and 1870. The first steamship that sailed between the confluence of the Ohio and New Orleans was New Orleans in 1811, during the series of New Madrid earthquakes.

The plantation slave economy developed in the first half of the 19th century and produced cotton and sugarcane in the south. Rich landowners have beautiful mansions built, some raised on brick pillars to prevent the risk of river flooding.

During the Civil War, control of the river became one of the main objectives. On July 4, 1863, after a forty-day siege, Vicksburg is taken by General Ulysses S. Grant, allowing the Union control of the river and splitting the Confederacy in two.

With the advent of the railroad, this waterway encountered serious competition: the train allowed communication between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States. Traffic from the eastern ports now exceeds that of New Orleans.

In the spring of 1927 the river breached its course in 145 places and flooded 73,000 km² of land, to a height of 10 m and a width of 30 km. In Cairo, the waters rose to 17 m The floods caused the death of 200 people and the forced displacement of another 500,000.

Despite the magnitude of previous floods, it was in 1993 when the United States experienced the most devastating and costly flood (12 billion dollars) to date. Exceptional rainfall during the spring and summer of that year swelled the Mississippi and its main tributary, the Missouri. Certain cities were flooded for more than 200 days. The flow of the river exceeded 70,000 m³/s in San Luis.

In 2002, Slovenian swimmer Martin Strel descended the entire length of the Mississippi in 68 days, receiving an official congratulations from the United States House of Representatives for his feat.

The Mississippi in culture

Huck and Jim, protagonists of The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnOn a raft at the Mississippi. Recorded of the 1884 edition.

Literature

The first written descriptions of the Mississippi are made in the travel books of Europeans in North America. French writer François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848) traveled across North America in the late 18th century and wrote several works with reports on the Mississippi region: Atala (1801) and René (1802) take place among Amerindians in Louisiana.

In literature, the river is inextricably linked to the work of the American writer Mark Twain (1835-1910). In his autobiographical novel Life on the Mississippi (Life on the Mississippi) he begins with a brief history of the discovery of the river by Hernando de Soto in 1541 and continues with anecdotes about the formation of Twain as a steamboat pilot working as a cabin boy to an experienced pilot and describes in detail the science of navigating its ever-changing waters, and the plot of two of his most popular works, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), also have the Mississippi as the protagonist. On the other hand, the river inspired another American writer of the XIX century, Herman Melville (1819-1891) in his novel The Confidence-Man, in which the passengers of a steamboat tell each other stories while descending the river.

The second chapter (entitled The Master of the Mississippi) of the comic book series The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck written by Don Rosa takes place throughout the river. Scrooge McDuck works on a ship and meets the "Pandadores Gulfs" for the first time.

Remontando le Mississippi (En remontant le Mississippi) is the 16th album by Lucky Luke, released in 1961. The drawings are by Morris based on a plot by René Goscinny.

Plastic arts

With its multitude of islands, its many meanders, its forests and its fauna, the Mississippi offers many inspirational subjects for artists: the naturalist John James Audubon (1785-1851) descended the river and painted the birds of this region. George Catlin (1796-1872) was interested in Amerindian societies and the exploration of the Mississippi. The landscapes of its upper course are part of the work of Edwin Whitefield (1816-1892) and steamboats on the river appear among others painters. Still in the 19th century, George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879), depicted hunting scenes and everyday life in the Mississippi: his painting Mississippi Boatman (1850) is part of a series dedicated to boatmen. This tradition was recovered by photographers of the XX century such as Walker Evans (1903-1975), Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985) or Robert Frank (1924-).

Music

The Mississippi and its delta are known as the birthplace of the blues. Delta blues is a style that makes direct reference to this region: the musicians used to travel through the different delta states such as Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Tennessee. Many of them were born on the banks of the river, such as James Cotton, Muddy Waters, Skip James and Robert Johnson.

In the 20th century, the musical comedy The Show Boat, composed by Jerome Kern, is framed in the world of traditional paddle wheel steamboats. Ferde Grofé composed a Mississippi Suite. The Johnny Cash song Big River also alludes to the Mississippi. The theme When the Levee Breaks is a blues song written in 1929 by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie. Its theme is the great flood of 1927 and was recovered by the rock group Led Zeppelin in 1971 on their album Led Zeppelin IV.

We can also add the country song Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man performed by the duo Conway Twitty - Loretta Lynn: this song evokes the barrier that the river tries to raise against the love of a Mississippi man and From a girl from Louisiana.

Cinema

It has been used as a setting for numerous films: three film musicals entitled Show Boat have been adapted from Edna Ferber's novel of the same title. The 1951 version, starring George Sidney and Ava Gardner, was highly successful with North American viewers. Mark Twain's novels have been brought to the big screen on numerous occasions since the 1930s, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a 1939 film starring Mickey Rooney, to recent productions such as the Disney studios The Adventures of Huck Finn, 1993, starring Elijah Wood and Courtney B. Vance. Disney released an animated musical film in 2009, The Princess and the Frog, which is framed by New Orleans and the Mississippi.

Not only the Mississippi, but many of its tributaries have been the setting for a large number of Hollywood movies, among which we can highlight, among many others, Red River ( Red River), from 1948, one of Hollywood's best westerns, directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne, and Striking Distance (Deadly Pursuit in Spain and Impact Zone in Argentina), with Bruce Willis and Sarah Jessica Parker as protagonists, a film that takes place on the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which join in Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River. In this film the protagonists are police officers from the river patrol that works in these three rivers.

Appendix: Mississippi River River System

The following table lists all the rivers in the Mississippi basin that are longer than 200 km, although some may be missing. It has been ordered by following the river downstream, from the source to the mouth, dividing the course into the two parts (Lower or Lower Mississippi and Upper or Upper Mississippi) in which it is usually done.

In general, the Anglicisms of the names of the most commonly used rivers are used, in those cases in which there is no usual use of the transliteration into Spanish. Care must be taken when using the data in the table, since the different sources provide unequal information. In relation to the length, it must be borne in mind that many dams have been built to regulate the flow and prevent flooding, which has caused the reduction of some courses, in some cases in a very important way, since long tortuous sections have been submerged and meandering This must be carefully studied when using old sources. (See also: Determination of length.)

El río Misisipi y sus afluentes (de más de 150 km y primarios destacados)

Ramal		Nombre afluente					Desembocadura	Longitud (km)	Cuenca (km²)	Caudal (m³/s)	Estado(s) atravesado(s)	Tramo (estados)	Curso
-	D	Río Minesota					Misisipi	534	44 000		Minnesota	Minnesota	Misisipi Superior
-	-	-	Río Blue Earth				Minnesota	174			Minnesota Iowa
-	-	-	Río Cottonwood				Minnesota	245	3400	11	Minnesota
-	-	-	Río Redwood				Minnesota	205			Minnesota
-	-	-	Río Yellow Medicine				Minnesota	173			Minnesota
-	-	-	Río Chippewa				Minnesota	195			Minnesota
-	-	-	Río Lac qui Parle				Minnesota	190	2994	4	Minnesota Dakota del Sur
-	-	-	Río Pomme de Terre				Minnesota	170	2266	4	Minnesota
I	-	Sistema St. Croix-Namekagon​					Misisipi				Minnesota Wisconsin	Minnesota-Wisconsin
-	-	-	Río Snake				Minnesota	170			Minnesota
I	-	Río Chippewa					Misisipi	294			Wisconsin
D	-	Río Wapsipinicon					Misisipi	362	31 805		Iowa	Iowa-Wisconsin
I	-	Río Wisconsin					Misisipi	692	31 805		Wisconsin
-	-	-	Río Kickapoo				Wisconsin	210			Wisconsin
I	-	Río Rock					Misisipi	459			Illinois Wisconsin	Iowa-Illinois
-	D	Río Iowa					Misisipi	520	32 700	267	Iowa
-	-	-	Río Cedar				Iowa	483			Iowa
-	-	-	Río English				Iowa	143,6			Iowa
-	D	Río Des Moines					-	845	38 340	246	Iowa Minnesota Misuri	Iowa-Misuri-Illinois
-	-	-	Río Raccoon				Des Moines	364			Iowa
-	-	-		Río Middle Raccoon			Des Moines	148			Iowa
-	-	-	Río Boone				Des Moines	166	2320		Iowa
-	-	-	Río Middle Des Moines				Des Moines	169			Iowa
-	D	Sistema Illinois- Des Plaines​					Misisipi	680	72 700		Wisconsin Illinois	Misuri-Illinois
-	-	-	Río Fox (Illinois)				Illinois	320			Illinois
-	-	-	Río Mackinaw				Illinois	210			Illinois
-	-	-	Río Sangamon				Illinois	402			Illinois
-	-	-	Río Spoon				Illinois	237			Illinois
-	-	-	Río La Moine				Illinois	201	5000		Illinois
-	-	-	Río Kankakee				Illinois	214	13 338	137	Illinois
I	-	Río Misuri					Misisipi	4130	1 371 000		Montana Dakota del Norte Dakota del Sur Nebraska Iowa Kansas Misuri
-	-	-	Río Jefferson				Misuri	124			Montana
-	-	-		Río Big Hole			Jefferson	246			Montana
-	-	-	Río Madison				-	295			Wyoming Montana
-	-	-	Río María				Misuri	338			Montana
-	-	-	Río Musselshell				Misuri	470			Montana
-	-	-	Río Milk				Misuri	1173			Montana (y Alberta, en Canadá)
-	-	-	Río Big Muddy				Misuri	307			Montana (y Saskatchewan, en Canadá)
-	-	-	Río Yellowstone				Misuri	1114	181 300		Dakota del Norte
-	-	-		Río Bighorn			Yellowstone	742			Dakota del Norte
-	-	-		Río Tongue			Yellowstone	426			Dakota del Norte
-	-	-		Río Powder			Yellowstone	604			Dakota del Norte
-	-	-	Río Pequeño Misuri (Little Missouri)				Misuri	901			Dakota del Norte
-	-	-	Río Grand				Misuri	320			Dakota del Sur
-	-	-	Río Moreau				Misuri	320			Dakota del Sur
-	-	-	Río Cheyenne				Misuri	475			Dakota del Sur Wyoming
-	-	-		Río Belle Fourche			Cheyenne	470			Dakota del Sur Wyoming
-	-	-	Río White				Misuri	816			Dakota del Sur Nebraska
-	-	-	Río Niobrara				Misuri	692			Wyoming Nebraska
-	-	-	Río James				Misuri	1143			Dakota del Sur Dakota del Sur
-	-	-	Río Big Sioux				Misuri	470			Iowa Dakota del Sur
-	-	-	Río Little Sioux				Misuri	356			Minnesota Iowa
-	-	-	Río Platte				Misuri	499			Nebraska Iowa
-	-	-		Río Platte Norte			Platte	1094			Kansas Misuri
-	-	-		Río Platte Sur (o río Jesús María)			Platte	711			Kansas Misuri
-	-	-	Río Kansas				Misuri	274			Kansas
-	-	-		Río Republican			Kansas	716			Kansas Misuri
-	-	-		Río Smoky Hill			Kansas	901			Kansas Misuri
-	-	-			Río Solomon		Smoky Hill	70			Kansas Misuri
-	-	-				Río South Fork Solomon	Solomon	334			Kansas Misuri
-	-	-				Río North Fork Solomon	Solomon	351			Kansas Misuri
-	-	-			Río Saline		Smoky Hill	459			Kansas Misuri
-	-	-		Río Big Blue			Kansas	402			Kansas Nebraska
-	-	-	Río Grand				Misuri	364			Misuri
-	-	-	Río Chariton				Misuri	450			Misuri Iowa
-	-	-	Río Osage				Misuri	579	39 600		Misuri
-	-	-	Río Gasconade				Misuri	425			Misuri
-	D	Río Meramec					Misisipi	350			Illinois
-	D	Río Kaskaskia					Río Misisipi	515	14 950		Misuri
I	-	Río Big Muddy					Río Misisipi	265			Illinois
I	-	Río Ohio					Río Misisipi	1579	490 600	7957	Pensilvania Virginia Occidental Ohio Kentucky Indiana Illinois	Misuri-Illinois-Kentucky	Misisipi Inferior
-	-	-	Río Cache				Ohio	148	1910		Illinois
-	-	-	Río Tennessee				Ohio	1049	105 870	2000	Kentucky Alabama Tennessee Misisipi
-	-	-		Río Duck			Tennessee	457			Tennessee
-	-	-			Río Buffalo		Duck	201	1980		Tennessee
-	-	-	Río Elk				Tennessee	314		89	Tennessee Alabama
-	-	-	Río Sequatchie				Tennessee	187			Tennessee
-	-	-	Río Hiwassee				Tennessee	213	2590		Georgia Tennessee
-	-	-		Río Toccoa/Ocoee			Hiwassee	150			Georgia Tennessee
-	-	-	Río Clinch				Tennessee	483			Kentucky Tennessee
-	-	-		Río Powell			Clinch	301	2419		Kentucky Tennessee
-	-	-	Río Little Tennessee				Tennessee	217			Georgia Carolina del Norte Tennessee
-	-	-	Río French Broad				Tennessee	343			Carolina del Norte Tennessee
-	-	-	Río Holston-North Fork​				Tennessee	441	9700	137,3	Virginia Tennessee
-	-	-		Río South Fork Holston River			Holston	180			Kentucky Tennessee
-	-	-	Río Cumberland				Ohio	1106	46 830	862	Kentucky Tennessee
-	-	-		Río Harpeth			Cumberland	185			Estados Unidos
-	-	-		Río Red			Cumberland	161	3840		Kentucky Tennessee
-	-	-		Sistema Stones-East Fork Stones​			Cumberland	149	2385,4		Tennessee
-	-	-		Caney Fork			Cumberland	230	4590		Tennessee
-	-	-		Río Big South Fork Cumberland​			Cumberland	165,8			Estados Unidos Kentucky Tennessee
-	-	-	Río Wabash				Ohio	764	103 500	1001	frontera Indiana-Illinois
-	-	-		Río Little Wabash			Wabash	390	5060		Illinois
-	-	-			Skillet Fork		Little Wabash	160			Illinois
-	-	-		Río Patoka			Wabash	269			Indiana
-	-	-		Sistema White-West Fork​			Wabash	583	14 882		Indiana
-	-	-		-	Arroyo Fall		White	92,5	820		Indiana
-	-	-			Río West Fork White		White	502			Indiana
-	-	-			Sistema Río East Fork White-Flatrock​		White	453			Indiana
-	-	-				Río Lost (Indiana)	East Fork	140			Indiana
-	-	-				Río Flatrock	East Fork	158	1380		Indiana
-	-	-				Sistema Driftwood-Big Blue​	East Fork	146			Indiana
-	-	-		Río Embarras			Wabash	314	6340		Illinois
-	-	-		Arroyo Sugar			Wabash	150			Indiana
-	-	-		Río Vermilion-Middle Fork​			Wabash	169,7			Illinois Indiana
-	-	-		Río Tippecanoe			Wabash	293	4860	145	Indiana
-	-	-		Río Mississinewa			Wabash	190			Indiana Ohio
-	-	-	Río Green				Ohio	480	25 400		Kentucky
-	-	-		Río Rough			Green	219			Kentucky
-	-	-		Río Nolin			Green	169			Kentucky
-	-	-	Sistema Kentucky-North Fork​				Ohio	618	18 000	285	Kentucky
-	-	-		Río Red (Kentucky)			Kentucky	156,4			Kentucky
-	-	-	Río Salt				Ohio	225	7563		Kentucky
-	-	-	Río Great Miami				Ohio	260	13 915	152	Ohio
-	-	-		Río Mad			Great Miami	97	1702		Ohio
-	-	-		Río Whitewater			Great Miami	145			Ohio Indiana
-	-	-	Río Licking				Ohio	515			Kentucky
-	-	-	Río Little Miami				Ohio	170	4550	36	Ohio
-	-	-	Río Scioto				Ohio	372	16 879	189	Ohio
-	-	-		Río Paint			Scioto	152			Ohio
-	-	-		Río Olentangy			Scioto	156	1406		Ohio
-	-	-	Río Little Sandy				Ohio	145			Kentucky
-	-	-	Sistema Big Sandy-Tug Fork​				Ohio	291			Virginia Kentucky Virginia Occidental
-	-	-		Río Levisa Fork			Big Sandy	225			Kentucky (frontera) Virginia Occidental (frontera)
-	-	-	Río Guyandotte				Ohio	267			Virginia Occidental
-	-	-	Sistema Kanawha-New​				Ohio	671	31 691	481	Carolina del Norte Virginia Virginia Occidental
-	-	-		Río Elk			Kanawha	277		75	Virginia Occidental
-	-	-		Río Greenbrier			New	261	4289	74	Virginia Occidental
-	-	-	Río Hocking				Ohio	160	3100		Ohio
-	-	-	Río Little Kanawha				Ohio	269	6099		Virginia Occidental
-	-	-	Sistema Muskingum-Tuscarawas​				Ohio	388	10 852		Ohio
-	-	-		Sistema Walhonding-Mohican​			Muskingum
-	-	-	Sistema Beaver-Mahoning​				Ohio	216			Pensilvania
-	-	-		Río Shenango			Beaver	160			Ohio Pensilvania
-	-	-	Sistema Monongahela-Tygart Valley​				Ohio	463	19 011	507	Virginia Occidental Pensilvania
-	-	-		Río Youghiogheny			Monongahela	196	4442	98	Virginia Occidental Pensilvania
-	-	-		Sistema Cheat-Shavers Fork​			Monongahela	269	3686	110	Virginia Occidental Pensilvania
-	-	-		Río West Fork			Monongahela	166	2282	33	Virginia Occidental
-	-	-	Río Allegheny				Ohio	523	30 000	470	Nueva York Pensilvania
-	-	-		Arroyo French			Allegheny	188	3289		Nueva York Pensilvania
-	-	-		Río Clarion			Allegheny	177			Pensilvania
-	-	-		Sistema Kiskiminetas-Conemaugh-Stoneycreek​			Allegheny	228			Pensilvania
-	D	Río Saint Francis					Río Misisipi	684			Arkansas Misuri	Arkansas-Misisipi
-	-	-	Río L'Anguille				Saint Francis	175			Arkansas
-	-	-	Río Little (río Saint Francis)				Saint Francis	238			Arkansas Misuri
-	D	Río Blanco (Arkansas)					Río Misisipi	1162	71 911		Arkansas Misuri
-	-	-	Río Black				Blanco	480			Arkansas Misuri
-	-	-		Río Current			Negro	290			Arkansas Misuri
-	-	-	Río Cache				Blanco	343			Arkansas Misuri
-	D	Río Arkansas					Río Misisipi	2348	505 000	16 200	Colorado Kansas Oklahoma Arkansas
-	-	-	Río Cimarrón				Arkansas	1123	46 565		Colorado Kansas Nuevo México Oklahoma
-	-	-	Río Canadian				Arkansas	1458	121 470		Colorado Nuevo México Oklahoma Texas
-	-	-		Río Canadian Norte			Canadian	1287	45 580		Nuevo México Oklahoma
-	-	-	Río Neosho				Arkansas	740			Kansas Oklahoma
-	-	-		Río Spring			Neosho	208			Kansas Misuri Oklahoma
-	-	-	Río Verdigris				Arkansas	451			Kansas Oklahoma
-	-	-		Río Caney			Verdigris	208			Kansas Oklahoma
-	-	-		Río Elk			Verdigris	153			Kansas
-	-	-	Río Salt Fork Arkansas				Arkansas	309			Kansas Oklahoma
I	-	Río Yazoo					Río Misisipi	302			Misisipi	Luisiana-Misisipi
-	D	Río Rojo (río Red)					Río Misisipi				Arkansas Luisiana Oklahoma Texas
-	-	-	Río Ouachita				Red	974			Arkansas Luisiana
-	-	-	Río Washita				Red	475			Oklahoma Arkansas