Scientists attribute all the rivers of America to the basins of the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Some of them have internal drains. The longest river system is here - the Mississippi River and its significant tributary, Missouri.
Where does this river flow?
Since childhood, many have been familiar with the book Deniskins Stories, in particular, the story The Main Rivers of America. Dragoonsky tells a very funny story, and those who read this work will forever remember the name of the main river of America.
Mississippi is the main communications waterway of mainland North America. It originates in the state of Minnesota. The source of the river is Lake Itasca. It flows mainly in a southerly direction and exclusively throughout the United States, in 10 states. But her pool extends to Canada. The main river of America flows into the Gulf of Mexico, while forming an extensive delta of 6 branches. The approximate length of each is 30-40 km. The Mississippi Delta covers approximately 32, 000 square kilometers, mostly lakes and swamps. Its width is 300 km.
Some statistics
The Mississippi Basin spans 31 states from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachian Mountains. The river is part of the borders or crosses such states as:
- Kentucky.
- Iowa.
- Illinois.
- Wisconsin.
- Missouri.
- Tennessee.
- Arkansas
- Mississippi.
- Louisiana.
In the list of the most important waterways of the world, the most important river in America is fourth in terms of length and ninth in terms of fullness.
Channel characteristics
Mississippi is divided into two sections - the Upper and Lower Parts. After the beautiful waterfall of St. Antonio near the city of Minneapolis, the main river of America becomes navigable. In this place, the relief of the channel is flat. Soils are composed of alluvial deposits. The Mississippi channel there is winding with lots of old ladies. On the plain where the river flows, many tangled channels form. Also in this area there are many floodplain bogs. During the flood period, they flood all nearby areas.
Almost the entire main river of America, or rather, its channel, is bordered by coastal ramparts. In order to protect the river bank from floods, entire systems of artificial dams with a length of more than 4000 km have been created.
Upper Mississippi is rich in rapids and rocky rifts. From Minneapolis to the mouth of the Missouri River, the channel is covered with locks. Over 20 dams have been built on this territory. Missouri pours muddy water into America’s main river. For about 150 km, such a stream is adjacent to the clear waters of the Mississippi.
During floods, the water level in the Mississippi rises sharply. Part of these waters is discharged into Lake Ponchartrain, which is located near New Orleans. The remaining flood waters flow into the Atchafalaya River, which flows parallel to the Mississippi.
Sometimes floods become catastrophic. This happens during a coincidence in the Mississippi and Missouri basins of the melting snow and rain flows coming from the Ohio River basin. Even modern hydraulic structures cannot protect fields and settlements from severe floods.
