Minnesota and Louisiana.  Exploring the Headwaters and Delta of America’s River

Traveling across the country, most Americans pass over the mighty Mississippi River without much thought.  The Mississippi has been a vital commercial artery for hundreds of years.  It is the longest (6,275 km) river in the U.S. and the fourth longest in the world after the Nile, Amazon, and Yangtze.  Together with its tributaries, the Mississippi drains all or parts of thirty-two U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, an area of more than 2.9 million square kilometers.  Major tributaries of the Mississippi include the Missouri, Ohio, Arkansas, Illinois, and Red Rivers.  Known as “America’s River,” because it flows through the country’s heartland, the Mississippi facilitates the transportation of cargo with an annual value of more than $400 billion.  Having seen bits and pieces of the Mississippi on coast-to-coast flights, I’d always wanted to see where the river begins and ends.  For context, it may be helpful to understand a few things about the history of people and the Mississippi.  Native Americans have lived along the Mississippi River and its tributaries since at least 4000 BC.  When Europeans first visited, the region was occupied by Sac and Fox, Quapaw, Osage, Natchez, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Pottawatomie, Winnebago and other tribes.  The U.S. gained control over most of the river’s watershed in 1803.  Like other rivers, the Mississippi has experienced devastating floods.  After a flood in 1927, the federal government constructed levees and initiated dredging and diking projects on some sections of the river.