THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI

THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI

By Tiffany Bowers

The Mighty Mississippi​

The Mississippi River​

The Mississippi River is the largest river that runs down the middle of the United States. It flows through 10 states, but the Mississippi influences many more.

Lets find out why geographers called it one of the most important rivers in the nation.​

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​Life on the Mississippi Long Ago

​Mark Twain's real name was Samuel Clemens. He based Tom and Huck's adventure on his own life growing up in a small town on the delta.

In 1859, Twain became a steamboat pilot. In Twain's time, the Mississippi was like a great highway. People traveled routes from Minnesota to the gulf of Mexico.​

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Continuation​

​Life on the Mississippi

People used rafts and boats to carry goods down the Mississippi to the busy port of New Orleans. Once the stream boat was invented, they were able to carry goods up and down the river.​ As a boy, Mark loved to watch steamboats traveled up and down the Mississippi River.

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​Changing the River

Many people depended on the River, but they could never quite rely on it being safe. At low water, it sandbars made travel dangerous for boats, which could run aground. In the Spring, and during rainy times, the river might overflow. Mark Twain remembered that during ​one flood the river became 70 miles wide.

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​Cont.

People began to change the river by building levees to stop the river from flooding ​farm lands and towns. The levees work some of the time. At other times the river pushed right through the levees.

They also changed the river to improve travel. People built bridges ​across the river. They dug mud outs too, so that large boats could travel the river easily.

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​The River Today

​Changes that people made to the river have made it easier to use. If Twain visited today, he would see the huge barges. The barges carry millions of tons of goods up and down the river each year. In 2005, a hurricane called Katrina hit the city of New Orleans. Hugh winds and heavy rains from the storm made the river overflow. During the storm, one by one the levees failed. Most of the city went under water.

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The storm and the flood cost billions of dollars. It was one of the greatest disasters in our nation's history. Since that time, people have worked hard to rebuild New Orleans. Geographers study the river and the ways human changes influence it. Their knowledge helps people plan well for the future.​

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Multiple Choice

Who were the two boys that Mark Twain wrote a book about?

• Tom and Jerry

• Keenan and Kel

• Tom and Huck

• Mickey and Donald

Multiple Choice

_____ carry goods regularly down the river.

• Barges

• Steamboats

• Kanoes

• Rafts

Multiple Choice

Mark Twain real name was__?

• John Jangle Jingle Hymer Smith

• Floyd Clemens

• Samuel Clemens

• George Washington

Multiple Choice

In what year did Mark Twain become a steamboat pilot?

• 1875

• 1983

• 2000

• 1859

Multiple Choice

People were able to travel all the way from _____ to the __________ while using the Mississippi River as a highway

• Minnesota, Gulf of Mexico

• Canada to Memphis

• Helena to New Orleans

• St. Louis to Pine Bluff

Multiple Choice

___ a wall, typically made up of dirt, built along a river to keep it from flooding.

• Sand Castle

• Bridge

• Levee

• Sand

Multiple Choice

In what year did the Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans?

• 2000

• 1983

• 2005

• 1870

Multiple Choice

Who study the rivers and the ways human changes influence it?

• Scientist

• Geographers

• Archeologist

• Doctors

Multiple Choice

What did Mark Twain like to do as kid?

• Watch TV

• Listen to river

• Watch the sunset

• Watch the steamboats

Multiple Choice

What runs down the middle of the United States?

• Equator

• Lines of Longitude

• Mississippi River

• The Red Sea

Open Ended

What is one fact that you learn from this lesson?