A Mississippi Journey The Mississippi River flows 2 300 miles 3 700 km from Minnesota in the northern United States to the Gulf of Mexico It is not the longest U S river the Missouri is longer but it is the most important route for ships and transport You will follow the river from its source to the sea V The Mississippi floodplain contains the richest farmland in the United States A Mighty River The Mississippi is like the United States itself vast powerful and always changing The river has played a vital part in the country's history People have used it for transportation farming and industry since early times It is one of the busiest working rivers in the world carrying boats loaded with goods and raw materials from all over the North American continent
Birth of a River Saskatchewan CANADA RIVER NoRTH DAKO Lake Itasca The Mississippi River was formed during the last ice age 10 000 12 000 years ago At that time most of Earth was covered with glaciers When the ice melted water flowed across the land forming the Mississippi channel The name Mississippi comes from Native American words meaning Big River low KENTUCE UNITED STATES Museum OLAHOMA ALABAMA Gional Mossum LouANA MEXICO Gulf of Mex v This bald eagle lives by catching fish in the Mississippi It uses its powerful talons to snatch fish from the river Mississippi Wildlife The Mississippi is home to about 240 species of fish and 50 different mammals Moose and eagles live along the upper reaches of the river The bald eagle is the national symbol of the United States and is a protected species Alligators and muskrats make their homes in the lower
Run The River Source Lake Itasca UNITED MSOA Snr The place where a river begins is It called its source The source of So the Mississippi is Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota The river starts life as a small clear stream flowing out of the lake St Paul You ARE HERE V At Lake Itasca in Minnesota a wooden post and a line of stepping stones mark the spot where the Mississippi begins Lake Itasca is shallow and surrounded by pine forests Many tourists come here to see where the Mississippi begins As the stream heads south it twists and turns through lakes and marshes and over waterfalls The area has few towns or cities but it is popular with tourists for walking camping and fishing Special lands called reservations are set aside for Native American groups such as the Ojibwe who live close to the river's
Minnesota has nearly 12 000 lakes that are greater than 10 acres 4 ha They are popular for canoeing and fishing The Mound Builders Hunter gatherers Roughly 7 000 8 000 years ago tribes such as the Ojibwe hunted wild animals for food by the river These early people lay in wait for bison deer and moose at the water s edge and killed them with stone tipped spears Later other Native American groups arrived in the region They built larger more permanent settlements and made a variety of stone wood and bone tools The ancient burial mounds they left behind can still be seen at Itasca's Indian Cemetery Long ago America's first farming peoples lived alongside the Mississippi Because of the earthen mounds they left behind they are sometimes known as the mound builders Some mounds supported temples Others were used as burial sites Mounds continued to be built until as late as the sixteenth century burial mounds dating back to prehistoric times can be found throughout the Mississippi
