Mississippi Moving

Speed: At the headwaters in Minnesota’s Itasca State Park, about 1.2 miles per hour (people usually walk about 3.5 miles per hour). In New Orleans, about 3 miles per hour.

Length: U.S. Geological Survey says 2,300 miles; Environmental Protection Agency estimates 2,320 miles, and the National Park Service says 2,350 miles.

Width: From 20 to 30 feet at headwaters to up to four miles at Lake Onalaska near La Crosse, Wis., where the river is held back by Lock and Dam No. 7, and about a mile at the mouth on the Gulf Coast.

Depth: Less than three feet at headwaters and up to 200 feet between Governor Nicholls Wharf and Algiers Point in New Orleans.

Elevation: Drops from 1,475 feet above sea level at headwaters to sea level at the Gulf of Mexico. More than half of the elevation drop occurs within Minnesota.

Wildlife: There are 260 kinds of fish, 326 different birds, 98 types of mussels, 50 mammals and 145 different reptiles and amphibians. Forty percent of the nation’s migratory waterfowl use the Mississippi corridor in spring and fall.

*Source: National Park Service