the mississippi river starts and ends in northern minnesota.
where does the mississippi river start and end?
in northern minnesota
the mississippi river is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system on the north american continent, second only to the hudson bay drainage system. its source is lake itasca in northern minnesota and it flows generally south for to the mississippi river delta in the gulf of mexico. with its many tributaries, the mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 32 u.s. states and two canadian provinces between the rocky and appalachian mountains. the main stem is entirely within the united states; the total drainage basin is , of which only about one percent is in canada. the mississippi ranks as the fourth-longest and fifteenth-largest river by discharge in the world. the river either borders or passes through the states of minnesota, wisconsin, iowa, illinois, missouri, kentucky, tennessee, arkansas, mississippi, and louisiana.
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