Location: Sam Gary Library

The Mississippi River

The mighty Mississippi River is the third largest watershed in the world, starting at Lake Itasca in Northern Minnesota and winding some 2,340 miles before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico not far from New Orleans. Historically home to over a dozen Native American tribes who lived near its banks, the Mississippi river has been both a vital transportation artery and a fertile agricultural region throughout the entire history of North America, up to and including the United States.