{"id":9584,"date":"2024-01-25T10:45:07","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T09:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=9584"},"modified":"2024-01-25T10:45:07","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T09:45:07","slug":"how-many-inches-long-is-the-mississippi-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/how-many-inches-long-is-the-mississippi-river\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many Inches Long Is The Mississippi River"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The mighty Mississippi River is the largest river in the USA and the 4th longest river in the world. Spanning 2,320 miles, this major waterway is a key part of American history, famously traversed by the great explorers. But just how long is the Mississippi River in terms of inches? And how does its length change as it flows from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico?<\/p>\n

In terms of length, the Mississippi River grows significantly as it courses through the United States. Starting at Lake Itasca in Minnesota, the Mississippi River is approximately 40 miles long and drains the land around it. As the Mississippi continues its journey south, the length increases to around 500 miles near St. Louis, Missouri. From here, the Mississippi River enters into Illinois and eventually flows into the Gulf of Mexico, which stretches around 1,500 miles in total. When including its tributaries, it is almost 4,000 miles long.<\/p>\n

In terms of width, the Mississippi reaches around one mile at its widest point, near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Stretching nearly 100 miles wide, the river has a varying width throughout the course of its journey. Starting near Lake Itasca, the Mississippi River is only around 5000 feet wide and is less than a mile wide at the Ohio River junction. However, from here the width increases significantly, reaching 7 miles wide at the Missouri River junction. It eventually reaches its largest width near Baton Rouge, before winding its way toward the Louisiana coast and eventually emptying into the Gulf.<\/p>\n

When considering the Mississippi River length in inches, the river is around 276,000 inches long at its widest point. Even so, experts point out that this number is highly variable, since the width of the Mississippi River can change due to factors such as heavy rainfall, construction projects, and natural disasters. Overall, the length of the Mississippi River in inches is a difficult number to quantify, since it varies significantly along its course.<\/p>\n