Why is the Mississippi river important kids?
For centuries, the Mississippi River has been a very important route (path) for trade and travel. What is this? Today, it is the cheapest way to travel between the Southeast United States.
What is important about the Mississippi river?
As the nation’s second-longest river, behind only the conjoining Missouri, the Mississippi provides drinking water for millions and supports a $12.6 billion shipping industry, with 35,300 related jobs. It’s one of the greatest water highways on earth, carrying commerce and food for the world.
How Old Is Mississippi River?
Therefore, the Mississippi River is less than 40 million years old. Now, we are going to approach the question from the other direction. During the Illinoisan and Wisconsinan glaciations (300,000 to 10,000 years ago), glacial till and moraines created dams that rerouted the Mississippi River to the west.
What are some fun facts about Mississippi?
Belzoni, Mississippi is considered the catfish capital of the world. The state of Mississippi contains over 100,000 acres of catfish ponds. 94% of all farm-raised catfish in the United States are raised in Mississippi. In Jackson County, you can find the Mississippi Sandhill Crane, the rarest crane in North America.
When was the Mississippi river named?
It was in May 1541 that Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached what is the Mississippi River and called it the “Rio del Espiritu Santo” or “the River of the Holy Spirit.”
What is the Mississippi river for kids?
Mississippi river is the third longest river in North America with a length of about 2,350 miles. The source of this river is Lake Itasca and from here, it begins as a small stream. The river flows into the Gulf of Mexico through a delta shaped like a bird’s foot.
What lives in Mississippi River?
More than 120 species of fish make their home in the river, along with recovering mussel populations. Otters, coyotes, deer, beaver and muskrats and other mammals live along the river’s banks. The National Park Service routinely conducts studies to monitor and evaluate animal populations.
Who named the Mississippi river?
Accounts by La Salle and Marquette, late 1600s french explorers, mention that the Chippewa Indians called the river the “Missi Sippi,” or “large flowing water.” In the first decade of the 1700s, French governor D’Iberville in Mobile referred to the Mississippi as the St.
What makes the Mississippi river unique?
The Mississippi River is one of the world’s major river systems in size, habitat diversity and biological productivity. It is also one of the world’s most important commercial waterways and one of North America’s great migration routes for both birds and fishes.
Who built the Mississippi river?
The first Europeans to ever set eyes on the river were Hernando De Soto and his group of explorers in 1541. In 1682, a Frenchman by the name of Robert de La Salle reached the mouth of the Mississippi and claimed the entire valley in the name of France.