History and Important Facts of the Mississippi River

The Mississippi river is the second largest river in the United States of America, next to the Missouri River. This body of water is also considered a watershed. It occupies part of two Canadian provinces. It is dominant in North America. This is also considered the third largest watershed in the whole world.

The name "Mississippi" is derived from "misi-ziibi" to mean great waters. It originated in the Ojibwe language of the olden times. The Mississippi River stretches from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. Although it is actually 2,340 miles long, it has shortened due to various meanders and engineering projects.

Mississippi river is considered a very young in terms of geological attributes. The falls here are receded upstream because layers of soft sandstones erode away. These sandstones underlie the limestone cap rock. Thousand of years before, the falls caused Minnesota and Mississippi rivers to join. St. Antony Falls, the only falls in the Mississippi River, carves a gorge to its new location. The gorge below St. Anthony Falls is the only true gorge of Mississippi river. It separates Minneapolis and St. Paul.