Key Facts about Mississippi River
A tanker ship collided recently with an American Cruise Lines passenger ship docked on the Mississippi River in New Orleans, triggering rescue operations for multiple passengers who were in the water.
About Mississippi River:
- It is the longest river in the United States and the second longest in North America.
- It lies entirely within the United States.
- Course:
- It rises in Lake Itasca in Minnesota and flows almost due south across the continental interior.
- It collects the waters of its major tributaries, the Missouri River (to the west) and the Ohio River (to the east), approximately halfway along its journey to the Gulf of Mexico through a vast delta southeast of New Orleans.
- The Mississippi River alone is more than 3,700 kilometers
- If the length of the Missouri River system is added, the Mississippi-Missouri is the world’s fourth longest river system, following the Nile (6,693 km), the Amazon (6,436 km), and the Yangtze Rivers (6,378 km).
- The Mississippi River basin drains 1,260,000 square miles, making it the largest drainage basin in terms of area in North America.
- The basin is home to different ecosystems, including wet forests dominated by cypress trees, brackish and freshwater marshes, sandy beaches, and salt marshes.
Source: Tanker collides with cruise ship on Mississippi River in New Orleans; rescue operations underway