The video starts where the Mississippi River starts, Lake Itasca, MN. Did you know that the Mississippi travels about 2,350 miles? The widest part of the Mississippi River is 11 miles wide at Lake Winnibigoshish near Bena, MN. The deepest part is 200 feet deep in New Orleans. When it reaches the Delta and the Gulf of Mexico it discharges at a rate between 200,000 and 700,000 cubic feet per second! It passes through 10 states including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. The video shows a map of the US with the River’s journey highlighted in blue. There are three major rivers that flow into the Mississippi. To the NW is the Missouri River which starts in Montana and is just slightly longer than the Mississippi itself! Then there is the Arkansas River which starts in Rocky Mountains near Leadville Colorado. It flows into the Mississippi in Arkansas. Lastly, the Ohio River, which actually starts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but flows along the southern border of Ohio down to Cairo, Illinois where it joins the Mississippi. Next the video explains how tens of smaller rivers and streams flow into all of these rivers. Basically, all of the waterways are highlighted in blue on the map. It explains the drainage system covers 1.24 million sq. miles, the same area as 2 Alaskas!! An aerial view of the Mississippi running through fields is shown as the video shares that 92% of the nation’s agriculture exports are from the Mississippi Watershed area. Next, you see a couple of cows munching on some feed. The statistic of 78% of the world’s export of feed grains comes from this area is posted. Then the aerial view of a large barge floating on the Mississippi precedes that 60% of grain exports are shipped out on the Mississippi. Lastly, the final image is the map of the US with all of the Mississippi River watershed highlighted in blue so you can see just how massive the connections of rivers and streams is. It closes with the quote, “Without this watershed, the Mississippi River wouldn’t be the resource it is today.”
