Title: Mississippi River | Familypedia | Fandom
Headings: Mississippi River
Mississippi River
Geography
Course changes
Watershed
Mississippi - Missouri river system
Outflow
History
Nomenclature
Early American
19th century
20th century
21st century
Navigation
Cities along the river
Bridge crossings
Popular culture
Nicknames
Literature and music
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Online maps and aerial photos

Content: by length (6,275 km or 3,900 miles), it is the fourth longest, and by average discharge (16,200 m³/s), it is the tenth largest. The longest of the many long Mississippi tributaries is the Missouri River with the Arkansas River as second longest. Measured by water volume, the largest of all Mississippi tributaries is the Ohio River. The river starts in Minnesota and then empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The name Mississippi is derived from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning 'great river' ( gichi-ziibi 'big river' at its headwaters). Geography
See also: Upper Mississippi River and Mississippi River Delta
The source of the Mississippi River on the edge of Lake Itasca
From its source at Lake Itasca, 1,475 feet (450 m) above sea level in Itasca State Park located in Clearwater County, the river falls to 801 feet (244 m) prior to St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis. There it drops to 725 feet (220 m), creating the only waterfall along the river's course. The Mississippi is joined by the Minnesota River in Minneapolis, the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, the Illinois River and the Missouri River near St. Louis, and by the Ohio River at Cairo. The Arkansas River joins the Mississippi in the state of Arkansas.