MISSISSIPPI RIVER (Ind. Missi Sepe, °father of waters," °great the main stem of the greatest drainage system of North America, and one of the greatest in the world (1,257,000 square miles) ; draining the entire western slope of the Alleghany-Appalachian range, and all the eastern slope of the United States Rockies save a small southern portion, with all between-19 States and two Territories in all, from New York to Montana, but narrow ing considerably in the lower basin. The Mis sissipi extends nearly the entire length of the United States, from within 100 miles of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, in a watercourse of about 2,550 miles, varied slightly by the lower river bends and cut-offs; and forms the boundary, total or partial, of 10 States—Minne sota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, on the west, and Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi, on the east. On its banks are four cities with from 200000 to O 600,000 inhabitants (Saint Louis, New Orleans Saint Paul and Minneapolis), and 17 others of over 10,000—Winona, Minn.; La Crosse, Wis.; Dubuque, Clinton, Davenport, Muscatine, Bur lington and Keokuk,Iowa; Rock Island, Quincy, Alton and Cairo, Ill.; Hannibal, Mo.; Memphis, Tenn.; Vicksburg and Natchez, iliss.; and Baton Rouge, La. It is navigable over 2,000 miles from its mouth to Minneapolis' (Falls of Saint Anthony), though the end of regular navigation is Saint Paul, 13 miles below; and is brokenly navigated by smaller steamers to Leech River, 415 miles farther on, along differ ent reaches. It has about 100,000 tributaries, 240 large enough to figure on small-sized sta tistical charts, 45 of them navigable for dis tances varying from 2,300 to 50 miles, and aggregating some 15,700 miles of inland navi gation; steamers can go upon it and its tribu taries some 4,000 miles east and west without breaking hulk — from Great Falls, Mont., on the Missouri, to Olean, N. Y., on the Allegheny. The greatest of the affluents, the Missouri, is usually considered the main stream, being about 1,600 miles longer than the upper Mississippi above the mouth (4,200 miles from the Gulf, the longest river course on the globe), having a basin more than three times as great, and discharging a considerably larger volume of water annually; nevertheless the upper Mis sissippi has so much steadier a flow— the Missouri shrinking at low water to 1-48 the volume in flood, and practically unnavigable then — that the former as between the two maintains the permanent navigability of the joint stream, and is justly enough held the main body in popular estimation; besides that the axial valley is continuous. Moreover, the Ohio
with its great rainfall (41.5 inches, against 352 for the upper Mississippi and 20.9 for the Missouri) discharges far more than either, and if that were valid ground, should itself be held the main stream.
The chief tributaries of the lower Missis sippi are as follows, in order of contribution to the volume of water in the lower river: Ohio, 1,300 miles long (to source of Allegheny); width 1,200 feet at Pittsburgh, 3,000 at mouth; basin, 207,111 square miles; annual discharge, about 5,000,000,000,000 cubic feet; per second, 158,000. Missouri, 2,908 miles long; width, 1,500 feet at Fort Benton (head of large-steamer navigation), 3,000 at mouth; basin, 527,690 square miles; annual discharge, 3,780,000,000, 000 cubic feet; per second, 120,000. Upper Mis sissippi, 1,330 miles long; width, 1,200 feet at Saint Paul (head of large navigation), 5,000 at junction with the Missouri, basin 179,635 square miles; annual discharge, 3,300,000,000,000 cubic feet ; per second, 105,000. Arkansas, 1,514 miles long; width, 1,500 feet at Fort Smith (head of large navigation), and about the same to its mouth; basin, 184,742 square miles; annual dis charge, 2,000,000,000,000 cubic feet; per second, 63,000. Red, 1,200 miles long; width, widely varying from log dams, etc.; annual discharge, 1,800,000,000,000 cubic feet ; per second, 57,000. The three next greatest basins are the White, Yazoo and Saint Francis. The total annual discharge, including three outlet bayous, is 21,300,000,000,000 cubic feet, or 675,000 per second.