About Mississippi River – Important Basics Which Should Interest You About The Mississippi River
The Mississippi River will run through ten states and has been used in the past for defining various portions of the borders of various states. The center of the riverbed at the specific time the borders have been established was the line for defining the borders between states. Since then the river has shifted, but the borders of Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi states have not been change;
The Mississippi River is divided into the upper Mississippi River, from its own source in the south part to the Ohio River, and the lower Mississippi River, from the Ohio River to its mouth close to New Orleans.
The upper Mississippi River is divided into 3 distinct sections:
- the headwaters – from the source to Saint Anthony Falls;
- a small series of various man-made lakes between St. Louis and Minneapolis;
- a rather free flowing river downstream of the confluence with the waters of the Missouri River.
Source
Lake Itasca, considered the source of the Mississippi River, is located in Itasca State Park, 1.470 feet above sea level. The term “Itasca” is practically a combination of the last 4 letters of the “veritas” Latin word mean means “truth”, and the first 2 letters of the “caput” Latin word which means “head”.
Tributaries
The Mississippi River is joined by the Wisconsin River Prairie du Chien, the Iowa River close to Wapello, the Skunk River in the south side of Burlington, the Minnesota River in the south part of the Twin Cities, the Illinois River as well as the Missouri River close to St. Louis, the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois, and the Des Moines River from Keokuk.
Lower Mississippi River
Major sub-tributaries will generally include the Platte River (the Missouri River`s tributary) and the Tennessee River (the Ohio River`s tributary). The Arkansas River will join the Mississippi River in the south-eastern side of Arkansas. The major distributary of the Mississippi River is the Atchafalaya River from Louisiana.
National Parks
If you think of choosing a river boat cruise along the Mississippi River, you should know there are a seven National Park Service sites which can be visited along the way.
The Mississippi National River & Recreation Area is a National Park Service site which has been dedicated to interpreting and protecting this majestic river itself.
Water skiing has been invented on the waters of the Mississippi River in a large region between Wisconsin and Minnesota which is also known as Lake Pepin.
