{"id":10167,"date":"2023-11-12T19:00:23","date_gmt":"2023-11-12T18:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=10167"},"modified":"2023-11-12T19:00:23","modified_gmt":"2023-11-12T18:00:23","slug":"how-high-is-the-mississippi-river-at-cape-girardeau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/how-high-is-the-mississippi-river-at-cape-girardeau\/","title":{"rendered":"How High Is The Mississippi River At Cape Girardeau"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Mississippi River is the fourth longest river in the world, running over 2,350 miles from Minnesota, USA to Gulf of Mexico. It is an important natural resource for many communities along its banks and in the Gulf region. While the river has many tributaries and its flow changes from place to place, the most important discussion surrounding it involves the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. <\/p>\n

Cape Girardeau has been impacted by the Mississippi River since its founding in 1808. It was a tobacco trade hub in the 1800s, and its wealth was built on products shipped up and down the river. Cape Girardeau is known as the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and strategic sites in its history resulted in important battles in the Civil War. <\/p>\n

Today, the economic significance of the Mississippi River is just as important as ever. The change its water level can create alarms in any community near its banks. When the water level is too high, flooding can occur and low levels can mean insufficient navigability for barges and other vessels vital to the area’s economy. To answer the question of how high is the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau- means looking at historical data and analyzing charts and graphs to get an answer. <\/p>\n

The highest water level of the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau, was reported in May of 1973 and it was reported at a staggering 48.2 feet. That year, the city of Cape Girardeau saw 13,000 people, or about half the population, evacuated from the region as flooding reached unprecedented levels. It is estimated that the city suffered between one and two million dollars in damages as a result of the flood that spring. <\/p>\n