The Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States (though its drainage basin reaches into Canada), it rises in northern Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for 2,530 miles (4,070 km) to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 31 US states and 2 Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth longest and tenth largest river in the world. The river either borders or cuts through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Mark Twain's book, Life on the Mississippi, covered the steamboat commerce which took place from 1830 to 1870 on the river before more modern ships replaced the steamer.

The first steamboat to travel the full length of the Lower Mississippi from the Ohio River to New Orleans was the New Orleans in December 1811. Steamboat transport remained a viable industry, both in terms of passengers and freight until the end of the first decade of the 20th century. Among the several Mississippi River system steamboat companies was the noted Anchor Line, which, from 1859 to 1898, operated a luxurious fleet of steamers between St. Louis and New Orleans.

Control of the river was a strategic objective of both sides in the American Civil War.

The "Big Freeze" of 1918/19 blocked river traffic north of Memphis, Tennessee, preventing transportation of coal from southern Illinois. This resulted in widespread shortages, high prices, and rationing of coal in January and February.

In the spring of 1927, the river broke out of its banks in 145 places, during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and inundated 27,000 sq mi (70,000 km2) to a depth of up to 30 ft (9.1 m).

In 1962 and 1963, industrial accidents spilled 3.5 million gallons of soybean oil into the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. The oil covered the Mississippi River from St. Paul to Lake Pepin, creating an ecological disaster and a demand to control water pollution.

On October 20, 1976, the automobile ferry, MV George Prince, was struck by a ship traveling upstream as the ferry attempted to cross from Destrehan, Louisiana, to Luling, Louisiana. Seventy-eight passengers and crew died; only eighteen survived the accident.

Anchor Line

Síntesis

El río Mississippi es el principal en el sistema norteamericano de ríos. Este río recorre gran parte del territorio de Estados Unidos desembocando en el Golfo de México.

El libro de Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, cubre la vida de los barcos a vapor entre 1830 y 1870, en el comercio que se realizaba en sus orillas hasta ser reemplazados por barcos más modernos.

El transporte a vapor permaneció como una industria sustentable hasta la primera década del siglo XX.

El control del río fue un objetivo estratégico para ambos bandos durante la Guerra Civil.

La gran helada entre 1918 y 1919 congeló el tráfico entre Memphis e Illinois provocando la escasez de carbón y su sobreprecio.

En 1927 se produjo la gran inundación de éste río llegando a cubrir más de 70,000 km cuadrados.

Suscribite al blog para recibir más información relacionada a los clásicos.