Mississippi River

Natural Features, Mighty Mississippi

Old Man River, the mighty Mississippi River, begins its life rippling between stepping stones at the outlet of Lake Itasca in Northern Minnesota. Explorers of North America had been guessing at the source of the big river for 300 years when Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, led by Ojibwe guide Ozaawindib (Yellow Head), found the headwaters in 1832. Though some dissenters still point to Elk Lake above Lake Itasca's west arm, experts affirm Schoolcraft's claim that Itasca is the uppermost collection basin where the river begins its 2,500-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mississippi borders the entire state of Illinois on the western side of the state, beginning in Northeast Illinois at East Dubuque and ending in South Region at Cairo, at its confluence with the Ohio River.

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Quotes regarding Mississippi River.

By Mark Twain
The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world — four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.
Life on the Mississippi.