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Mississippi River: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Mississippi River
The word Mississippi itself comes from the French rendering of the Anishinaabe name for the river, Misi-ziibi, which translates to Great River. This name was not chosen by the first European explorers who arrived in the 16th century, but rather inherited from the indigenous peoples who had lived along its banks for thousands of years. Before the French arrived, the Ojibwe people called the river flowing out of Lake Itasca the Elk River, and as it flowed into Lake Bemidji, they called it the River from the Traversing Lake. The name changed again as it passed through Cass Lake, becoming the Red Cedar River, and finally the Great River after the confluence with the Crow Wing River. The French explorer Louis Jolliet and Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette traveled this waterway in 1673, and Marquette proposed calling it the River of the Immaculate Conception, but the indigenous name stuck. The river's significance is so profound that it serves as a cultural dividing line for the United States, with broadcast call signs beginning with W to the east and K to the west, a system that still defines the media landscape today. The river's name is a testament to the deep history of the Native American nations, including the Cheyenne, who called it the Big Greasy River, and the Arapaho, who named it Beesniicíe, long before the first European ships ever touched its waters.
The River's Ancient Course
Over geologic time, the Mississippi River has experienced numerous large and small changes to its main course, shifting its final pathway to the Gulf of Mexico every thousand years or so. This process, known as avulsion or delta switching, occurs because the deposits of silt and sediment begin to clog its channel, raising the river's level and causing it to eventually find a steeper, more direct route to the Gulf of Mexico. The currently active delta lobe is called the Birdfoot Delta, after its shape, or the Balize Delta, after La Balise, Louisiana, the first French settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi. The river's history of course changes is written in the landscape, with abandoned distributaries diminishing in volume to form what are known as bayous. In March 1876, the Mississippi suddenly changed course near the settlement of Reverie, Tennessee, leaving a small part of Tipton County, Tennessee, attached to Arkansas and separated from the rest of Tennessee by the new river channel. The town of Kaskaskia, Illinois, once stood on a peninsula at the confluence of the Mississippi and Kaskaskia Rivers, but successive flooding caused the river to slowly encroach east, and a major flood in 1881 caused it to overtake the lower of the Kaskaskia River, forming a new Mississippi channel and cutting off the town from the rest of the state. Today, the remaining island and community of 14 residents is known as an enclave of Illinois and is accessible only from the Missouri side. The river's ability to change its course is a reminder of the dynamic nature of the landscape, shaped by the forces of water and sediment over millennia.
Common questions
What is the origin of the name Mississippi River?
The name Mississippi comes from the French rendering of the Anishinaabe name Misi-ziibi, which translates to Great River. This name was inherited from indigenous peoples who had lived along its banks for thousands of years before the first European explorers arrived in the 16th century.
When did the Mississippi River change course near Reverie Tennessee?
The Mississippi River suddenly changed course near the settlement of Reverie, Tennessee, in March 1876. This event left a small part of Tipton County, Tennessee, attached to Arkansas and separated from the rest of Tennessee by the new river channel.
Which steamboat was the first to travel the full length of the Lower Mississippi River?
The New Orleans was the first steamboat to travel the full length of the Lower Mississippi River from the Ohio River to New Orleans in December 1811. Its maiden voyage occurred during the series of New Madrid earthquakes in 1811 and 1812.
When did the Union victory end the Siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War?
The Union victory ended the Siege of Vicksburg on the 4th of July 1863. This event was pivotal to the Union's final victory of the Civil War and completed control of the lower Mississippi River.
What year did the United States Army Corps of Engineers construct saltwater sills to contain salt water in the Mississippi River?
The United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed saltwater sills or underwater levees to contain salt water in 1988, 1999, 2012, and 2022. These structures consist of a large mound of sand spanning the width of the river 55 feet below the surface.
The steamboat era changed the economic and political life of the Mississippi, as well as of travel itself, transforming the river into a flourishing tourist trade. 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, its maiden voyage occurring during the series of New Madrid earthquakes in 1811, 12. The Upper Mississippi was treacherous, unpredictable, and to make traveling worse, the area was not properly mapped out or surveyed. Until the 1840s, only two trips a year to the Twin Cities landings were made by steamboats, which suggests it was not very profitable. The Secretary of War, Charles M. Conrad, authorized a scientific study of the river in 1851 to prevent flooding, and the report was first published in 1861 under the title, Report upon the Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi River, and was the most extensive river study undertaken in the world at that time. 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. Italian explorer Giacomo Beltrami wrote about his journey on the Virginia, which was the first steamboat to make it to Fort St. Anthony in Minnesota, referring to his voyage as a promenade that was once a journey on the Mississippi. The steamboat era was a time of great adventure and economic growth, but it was also a time of great danger, with the river's unpredictable nature posing a constant threat to those who traveled its waters.
The Civil War Turning Point
Control of the river was a strategic objective of both sides in the American Civil War, forming a part of the U.S. Anaconda Plan. In 1862, Union forces coming down the river successfully cleared Confederate defenses at Island Number 10 and Memphis, Tennessee, while Naval forces coming upriver from the Gulf of Mexico captured New Orleans, Louisiana. One of the last major Confederate strongholds was on the heights overlooking the river at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the Union's Vicksburg Campaign, which ran from December 1862 to July 1863, and the fall of Port Hudson, completed control of the lower Mississippi River. The Union victory ended the Siege of Vicksburg on the 4th of July 1863, and was pivotal to the Union's final victory of the Civil War. The river's importance as a transportation artery was so great that its capture by Union forces marked a turning point to victory for the Union. The river's role in the Civil War was not just a military one, but also a political one, as the control of the river was essential for the Union to maintain its supply lines and to cut off the Confederacy from the rest of the world. The river's history during the Civil War is a testament to the importance of waterways in the development of the United States, and to the strategic importance of the Mississippi River in the nation's history.
The Engineering of the River
Because of the substantial growth of cities and the larger ships and barges that replaced steamboats, the first decades of the 20th century saw the construction of massive engineering works such as levees, locks and dams, often built in combination. A major focus of this work has been to prevent the lower Mississippi from shifting into the channel of the Atchafalaya River and bypassing New Orleans. The Corps of Engineers now actively creates and maintains spillways and floodways to divert periodic water surges into backwater channels and lakes, as well as to route part of the Mississippi's flow into the Atchafalaya Basin and from there to the Gulf of Mexico, bypassing Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The main structures are the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway in Missouri, the Old River Control Structure and the Morganza Spillway in Louisiana, which direct excess water down the west and east sides of the Atchafalaya River, and the Bonnet Carré Spillway, also in Louisiana, which directs floodwaters to Lake Pontchartrain. The scope and scale of the levees, built along either side of the river to keep it on its course, has often been compared to the Great Wall of China. The river's engineering history is a testament to the human desire to control the natural world, and to the challenges of living with a river that is constantly changing its course. The river's engineering history is also a story of the human impact on the environment, as the construction of levees and dams has altered the river's natural flow and has had a profound impact on the ecosystem of the Mississippi River basin.
The Dead Zone Crisis
Since the 20th century, the Mississippi River has also experienced major pollution and environmental problems, most notably elevated nutrient and chemical levels from agricultural runoff, the primary contributor to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. The river's water quality has been a major concern for the United States, with the Mississippi River Basin receiving a grade of D+ in a 2015 assessment by The Nature Conservancy's America's Rivershed Initiative. The assessment noted the aging navigation and flood control infrastructure along with multiple environmental problems. The river's water quality is also affected by the presence of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico, which forms a salt wedge along the river bottom near the mouth of the river, while fresh water flows near the surface. In drought years, with less fresh water to push it out, salt water can travel many miles upstream, contaminating drinking water supplies and requiring the use of desalination. The United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed saltwater sills or underwater levees to contain this in 1988, 1999, 2012, and 2022. This consists of a large mound of sand spanning the width of the river 55 feet below the surface, allowing fresh water and large cargo ships to pass over. The river's environmental history is a story of the human impact on the natural world, and of the challenges of living with a river that is constantly changing its course. The river's environmental history is also a story of the human desire to control the natural world, and of the challenges of living with a river that is constantly changing its course.