Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the principal river of the largest drainage basin in the United States and the second-longest river in the country, after the Missouri River. From its traditional source at Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows generally south for about 2,340 miles (3,766 km) to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. Its watershed drains all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, and the river either borders or passes through ten U.S. states. The main stem lies entirely within the United States, and the Mississippi ranks as the largest river in North America by discharge and one of the largest in the world.

For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples lived along the Mississippi and its tributaries. European exploration in the 16th century and later settlement transformed the basin, and the river became a boundary in the colonial era as well as a vital transportation route. In the 19th century, the Mississippi and its tributaries, especially the Ohio River and Missouri River, served as corridors for westward expansion under Manifest Destiny. The river also occupies an important place in American literature, especially in the works of Mark Twain.

The Mississippi’s fertile floodplains, including the Mississippi Embayment and American Bottom, supported agriculture and river trade, while steamboats played a major role in commerce in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Later, extensive engineering works such as levees, locks, and dams were built to control flooding and navigation, including efforts to prevent the lower river from shifting into the Atchafalaya River. In modern times, the Mississippi has also faced serious pollution problems, notably nutrient runoff contributing to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone.