Length in Miles
The Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, stretching over the states of Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and part of Minnesota. Measuring from the headwaters near Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, the Mississippi River is 2,301 miles in length, making it the fourth longest river in the world. It is essential to note that the length of a river is constantly changing due to frequent flooding and human encroachment.
The Mississippi River was studied to determine its exact length by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the 1950s. Through this study, it was observed that the river exhibits a diverse and dynamic range of physical characteristics along its entire length. These characteristics can be attributed to the presence of alluvial plains, oxbows, swamps, and different geologic deposits along the river, each contributing to its changing length.
Floods Affect River Length
One of the most important factors contributing to the changing length of the Mississippi River is frequent flooding caused by snowmelt, heavy monsoons, and other weather-related phenomena. This involves an overload of water entering the river, causing it to swell, create new channels, flood adjacent land, and erode the shore. While this phenomenon is vital for sustaining and replenishing the local flora and fauna, it also causes considerable damage to adjacent infrastructure and human settlements in low-lying areas.
Silt accumulation
The height of a river is also affected over time by the accumulation of silt. Silt particles traveling down the river attach themselves to the river banks, causing the river to narrow in some sections and increasing the weight of the banks in others. This results in the buildup of sandbars and resulting meanders, which gradually reduce the total length of the river.
Channelization and Levee Construction
Due to the destructive effects of frequent flooding, human populations frequently attempt to control and manage the river by undertaking projects such as channelization and levee construction. Channelization is a process by which an originally meandering river is converted into a straighter channel with a more uniform width. This can reduce the river’s overall length slightly, as curves and bends are eliminated and the river only occupies a narrower space.
Levees are structures of various heights and widths constructed on either side of the river to contain the flow and reduce floods. However, the downside of levees is that they block the natural movement of the sediment, minimizing any silt deposition.
Manmade Channels
Human-engineered canals and other waterway projects built along the banks of the Mississippi River also alter its length. In an effort to increase trade and transportation, many lakeside towns have built a large network of canals, channels, and locks, which are occasionally connected to the Mississippi. In this way, these projects have diverted a significant portion of the river’s flow, causing a decrease in its overall length.
Explosive Blasting and Dredging
Dredging and explosive blasting are two other methods employed to reduce the length of the Mississippi River by eliminating meanders and other bends. In both methods, sediment and other materials from the banks and bottom of the river are removed to reduce the depth of the river and its footprint. By doing so, the total length of the river can be significantly reduced in short spans of time.
Pros and Cons of River Shortening
One benefit of shortening the Mississippi River is increased navigability in the form of a straighter, deeper river. The result is that bigger vessels can sail upriver, increasing regional trade. Additionally, land reclamation is possible due to the creation of a straighter waterway.
However, the alteration of the river directly impacts the diversity of the local environment, leading to the loss of aquatic habitats and endangering the fauna and flora. Additionally, it creates simpler hydrologic circuits, with less transfer of energy, leading to lower resilience to climate-induced changes.
Subsidence
Another factor that affects the total length of the Mississippi River is the sinking of the underlying land due to over-extraction of oil and other resources, leading to large-scale subsidence along the banks of the river. In this way, the river loses much of its bend, and its total length decreases.
Climate Change Effects
Climate change has had and will have a major impact on the length of the Mississippi River and its associated ecosystems. Through increasing temperatures, increasing floods and droughts, changes in groundwater levels, and other related phenomena, the length of the Mississippi River could be affected significantly into the future.
The most prominent areas affected by this phenomenon are those in the lower parts of the river, where the terrain is generally flatter and more prone to changes due to global warming. In these areas, the impact of climate-related changes could be significant, leading to extensive disruptions of local wildlife, flora, and infrastructure.
River Features
The Mississippi River features a variety of features, including floodplains, oxbows, marshes, wetlands, and meanders. All these features contribute to the length of the river, and the health of these features play a major role in determining the overall length.
Additionally, the Mississippi River is the primary source of freshwater for much of the central United States. Aside from draining into the Gulf of Mexico, the river also drains into at least thirty states, and is indirectly responsible for supplying freshwater to nearby bodies of water, such as lakes and ponds.
Regional Management
Regional management of the Mississippi River is essential in order to help manage its changing length, health, and stability. This includes practices such as regulating and restricting activities like dredging and blasting, providing protective infrastructure such as levees, and the restoration of wetlands, among others.
Additionally, regional collaboration between community-based organizations and other communities along the length of the Mississippi River is essential in order to successfully coordinate the conservation and management of the river.
Pollution and Conservation
During the most recent decades, there has been an increase in the amount of pollutants present in the Mississippi River, due to human activities such as agricultural run-off, industrial waste, and energy production facilities.
In order to protect the integrity of the Mississippi River, there need to be better efforts in terms of pollution control and conservation both on an institutional and community level. This could include better enforcement of existing regulations, the reintroduction of some traditional agricultural practices, and increased efforts in education, among others.
Economic Impact
Aside from its ecological and recreational importance, the Mississippi River also has an important economic impact on the region. Millions of tons of raw materials and goods are transported along the river, providing a vital lifeline for many businesses.
Additionally, it is estimated that the Mississippi River contributes over $500 billion to the US economy annually. Given the importance of the river to the US economy, it is essential to protect its length and integrity, in order to ensure its long-term sustainability and benefit.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Mississippi River is essential to the United States and is of tremendous importance to the region’s ecology and economy. Factors such as floods, subsidence, dredging, and pollution all contribute to changes in the length of the river over time.
In order to ensure its long-term sustainability and benefit, it is essential to adopt practices that help reduce the impact of human activities and climate change on the length of the river. This could include better regional management, increased pollution control and enforcement of regulations, and increased efforts in education, among others.
