lake itasca is the starting point of the mississippi river.
what is the starting point of the mississippi river?
lake itasca
the word "mississippi" itself comes from "messipi", the french rendering of the anishinaabe (ojibwe or algonquin) name for the river, "misi-ziibi" (great river). the ojibwe called lake itasca "omashkoozo-zaaga'igan" (elk lake) and the river flowing out of it "omashkoozo-ziibi" (elk river). after flowing into lake bemidji, the ojibwe called the river "bemijigamaag-ziibi" (river from the traversing lake). after flowing into cass lake, the name of the river changes to "gaa-miskwaawaakokaag-ziibi" (red cedar river) and then out of lake winnibigoshish as "wiinibiigoonzhish-ziibi" (miserable wretched dirty water river), "gichi-ziibi" (big river) after the confluence with the leech lake river, then finally as "misi-ziibi" (great river) after the confluence with the crow wing river. after the expeditions by giacomo beltrami and henry schoolcraft, the longest stream above the juncture of the crow wing river and "gichi-ziibi" was named "mississippi river". the mississippi river band of chippewa indians, known as the "gichi-ziibiwininiwag", are named after the stretch of the mississippi river known as the "gichi-ziibi". the cheyenne, one of the earliest inhabitants of the upper mississippi river, called it the "máʼxe-éʼometaaʼe" (big greasy river) in the cheyenne language. the arapaho name for the river is "beesniicíe". the pawnee name is "kickaátit".
mississippi river
conservation of the mississippi river watershed has become an important issue that many organizations are undertaking because the capacity of the river to remove nutrients from the water is decreasing and the surrounding ecosystems are being diminished. the mississippi river basin encompasses 31 u.s. states with an area of 1,837,000 square miles. the mississippi river's capacity to remove nutrients has diminished due to a range of human activities, such as development, taking place along the mississippi river itself and the streams and tributaries linked to it. the layouts of the river, the floodplains, and the watershed have also been modified using engineering techniques for acres of agriculture fields and urban expansion. with increase of natural prairie land being converted to land for agricultural and urban use, there has been an excess of nutrients that are discharged into the mississippi river and its adjoining streams. nitrates and phosphorus are the two main contaminants that pollute the mississippi river watershed. this nutrient pollution comes from a surplus of phosphorus and nitrogen, both of which occur naturally in water and air. in the upper mississippi river basin farmland, nitrate fertilizer has been overused in farming, with the high demand for corn as a contributing factor. corn, which is used to make ethanol for biofuel, has become the number one crop in the farmland that drains into the mississippi river. soybeans are another crop in the upper mississippi river basin farmland that drain into the watershed, and nitrates are the main fertilizer used on soybeans and corn.
mississippi river watershed conservation programs