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O/T Where does the Mighty Mississippi officially originate?

J

JBMac

Member
I'm here in La working this week and noticed the river is up quite a bit. I'm so used to the little rivers around home in North Florida; they typically rise after heavy rainfall events in South Georgia. I asked my customer about it and he said it's from the thaw starting, never thought about that. As much snow as y'all have had in the watershed of this great river, I cant imagine how much water will be coming downstream! Something about this river and it's contributions to America's wealth, growth, expansion, amazes me. Just some thoughts from my travels today.

John MacLaren
 
They call it the headwaters of the mississippi and it is correct that it is lake itasca, but its more of a swamp than a lake. Bob
 
It was a very swampy start tho there is a real lake of sorts; but way way back when the park head decided trhat wasn't a good look to the start of the river so it got channeled out a bit. They have a row of large rocks aross it so you can walk across the Mississippi, just a little too wide to jump across most of the time.

We are really really wet up here, I'm down by the Minnesota river which feeds into the Mississippi. Lot of snow melt. We are 11 feet over flood stage, only 5 feet from the highest level recorded. The Missisppi is going up now too.

I think somewhere around St Louis the river changes, broadens out, so our waters don't really affect you too much below that - up & down a bit, but not a big deal?
I feel bad for the folks by Fargo/Moorehead - theirs is yet to come, and it will be bad again for them. They are on the bottom level part of an ancient lake, so there is no where to channel the water, it just builds up and flows. River runs north, so the ice doesn't leave in time, just builds up behind the ice.

You can watch river levels all across the USA here: http://water.weather.gov/ahps/

--->Paul
USA river monitoring
 
This is a light year in New Orleans. River stage is only 13ft and we do not really worry until it gets close to 17ft. Levees protect us to above 20ft. Even after it gets this high we have spillways where we can divert some of the water to prevent flooding.

Lets see if you can imagine this big.
Imagine a cubic ft of water.
Now put 700,000 of them together.
Now imagine that much water passing you every SECOND.
That is the flow rate in a normal April.

clip_image029.jpg
 
From the missouri and the ohio. The missouri has been covered. Here in western PA we are the start of the other half. Starts around Penn State a little closer to pittsburgh then flows into the two rivers that make the Ohio river in Pittsburgh. Then flows on down to the missouri to make the mighty miss.
 
Lake Michigan.
Water is being siphoned off from Lake Michigan though the Chicago "Sanitary Canal".
Thus Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and down stream Lake Erie, Lake Ontario. And the St Lawrence Seaway have less depth and flow through the hydro electric sites. Shallower shipping depths too.
Why is Lake Michigan being drained into the Mississippi? To keep the water level up so less dredging is required and heavier barge loads can be carried. More water can be taken from the Mississippi for irrigation too.
Of course the Asian Carp that are breaking through the barriers will ruin the Great Lakes fishery. Just as the Mississippi has already been ruined.
 
(quoted from post at 15:51:50 04/06/11) I'm here in La working this week and noticed the river is up quite a bit. I'm so used to the little rivers around home in North Florida; they typically rise after heavy rainfall events in South Georgia. I asked my customer about it and he said it's from the thaw starting, never thought about that. As much snow as y'all have had in the watershed of this great river, I cant imagine how much water will be coming downstream! Something about this river and it's contributions to America's wealth, growth, expansion, amazes me. Just some thoughts from my travels today.

John MacLaren
Click to expand...

Within a 5 mile circle in northern Pa. Near Coudersport are the headwaters of the Genesee river which flows through western NEw York into Lake Ontario to the St. Lawerance to the Atlantic, the Allegany river which flows to the Ohio-Miss into the Gulf of Mexico. And the Susquehanna which flows to the Chesapeke bay.
Geography is great
 
(quoted from post at 15:51:50 04/06/11) I'm here in La working this week and noticed the river is up quite a bit. I'm so used to the little rivers around home in North Florida; they typically rise after heavy rainfall events in South Georgia. I asked my customer about it and he said it's from the thaw starting, never thought about that. As much snow as y'all have had in the watershed of this great river, I cant imagine how much water will be coming downstream! Something about this river and it's contributions to America's wealth, growth, expansion, amazes me. Just some thoughts from my travels today.

John MacLaren
Click to expand...

Within a 5 mile circle in northern Pa. Near Coudersport are the headwaters of the Genesee river which flows through western NEw York into Lake Ontario to the St. Lawerance to the Atlantic, the Allegany river which flows to the Ohio-Miss into the Gulf of Mexico. And the Susquehanna which flows to the Chesapeke bay.
Geography is great
 
At Gold, PA there is a singular knob that is considered the triple divide for tributaries to each of these rivers. That is at the marker a single drop of rain could divide in three (theoretically) and follow each system.
There was a good series in the Rochester, NY paper that covered that last year as part of discussing the Genesee River. I accessed the series online. Letchworth Gorge is something to behold here, too. You also have Watkins Glen and some gorges near Ithaca, NY.
 
Some would say it originates from the Rockies via the Missouri,or east to the Ohio and various rivers or North just short of L.Michigan. Wherever,East of the Rockies, West of the Appalchion it drains a vast part of the USA and no doubt it will run a banker plus when the spring thaw arrives..
 
Or, going the other way, just outside of Three Forks, Montana, the Jefferson, Gallatin and Madison come together and become the Missouri River. Quite a bit further than going up the Ohio, and if you track those three rivers upstream you can add a hundred miles (roughly) more.
 
B & D,

That's a load of Canadian BS. You must have a cow-chip on your shoulder. May I remind you that Lake Michigan is entirely within US boundaries.

The low-flow Chicago River which turns into the Sanitary and Ship Canal is sealed off from Lake Michigan with a navigation lock. A small controlled flow of 44 cubic meters per second is diverted out of Lake Michigan. By contrast, 5,796 cubic meters per second pass through the Niagra River and that doesn't even include the watershed of Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River. As you can see, it is insignificant.

The amount of water that flows from Lake Michigan into the Mississippi has no effect on either level. On top of that, the Sanitary and Barge Canal hasn't seen any commercial traffic in decades. It is a recreational waterway. Perhaps we should cover all the Great Lakes with tarps to reduce evaporation.

In 2005, a joint US-Canadian commission was set up to monitor and control invasive marine species.
I
 
For anyone from Minnesota- that is a no-brainer...I don"t understand all the other claims. Lake Itasca, Northern Minnesota. Beginning of the Mississippi is a "question mark" shape, coming from Itasca. I didn"t know that the source was in dispute- it was established years ago. Our other computer might have the picture from the 90s, of our kids walking across the Headwaters in one of the few vacations we had in 30 years of milking cows.
 
You se, dis vas all started ven there vas this big rainstorm in Minnesoota! The houses were al under vater and Lena and Mrs Olsen ver sitting on the roof of a house vatching the vater and they saw this baseball cap floating on the vater but it seemed to be going back and forth in front of the house. Mrs Olsen said: "Lena" vy do you tink dat basebal cap is floating like dat, I mean it's going back and forth in straight lines?" Lena said: "Dat's my husband Ole, I tol him he vas going to cut the grass today come hell or high vater!"
 
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