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SMB Vacations

Fun Facts about the Mississippi

The Mississippi River is full of intriguing history and fascinating scenery from end-to-end. It reaches a wide variety of cultures and heritages, touching ten states from its beginning in Minnesota to its end in Louisiana.

A couple of fun facts:


How did the Mississippi River get is name? The word Mississippi comes from Messipi, the French rendering of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe or Algonquin) name for the river, Misi-ziibi (Great River).


Where does the Mississippi River begin? The Mississippi River water source is fed by Lake Itasca in Northern Minnesota and flows all the way down into the Gulf of Mexico.


What are the Mississippi River regions? The Mississippi River is best divided into three sections:The first is the Upper Mississippi, from its headwaters at Lake Itasca to the confluence with the Missouri River – cities that border this region include: Minneapolis, MN and Dubuque, IAThe Middle Mississippi flows downriver from the Missouri to the Ohio River, and passes by the Gateway Arch in Louis. And the Lower Mississippi begins at the Ohio River mark and stretches to the Gulf of Mexico.


What states does the Mississippi River touch? The Mississippi River either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.


How does the Mississippi River rank with others in the world? The Mississippi River is the third longest river in North America and flows 2,340 miles from beginning to end.


What is the depth of the Mississippi River? The depth of the Mississippi River varies depending on which point you find yourself at. The deepest point on the Mississippi River is located near Algiers Point in New Orleans and is 200 feet in depth.


What kind of animals live in the Mississippi River? The Mississippi River is home to 360 species of fish, 326 species of birds, 145 species of amphibians and 50 species of mammals.


How fast does the Mississippi River flow? A raindrop deposited at the headwaters of the Mississippi River would take almost 82 days to meet the Gulf of Mexico at the river’s average speed of 1.2 miles per hour. That is, of course, without stops for sightseeing.


How wide is the Mississippi River? At its skinniest point, the river is between 20 and 30 feet wide, but at its largest, the Mississippi River is more than 11 miles wide!


How long is the Mississippi River? The Mississippi River is approximately 2,381 miles long.

When we think of river cruising, we usually picture a long river ship traveling through Europe. But there are amazing river journeys right here in the USA!


Want to hear more about the fabulous itineraries? Click here to schedule a chat with me!

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