The Mississippi River real estate market of Southwest Wisconsin, Southeast Minnesota and Northeast Iowa offers some of the most amazing views in the world.  Erlandson Realty is your gateway to the Mississippi River Valley.  Real Estate in Stoddard, Genoa, De Soto & Ferryville has never been more exciting. 

 

 Fun Facts: 

 

The word Mississippi comes from Messipi, the French rendering of the  Anishinaabe (Ojibwe or Algonquin) name for the river, Misi-ziibi, which means "great river." 

 

The sport of water skiing was invented on the river in a wide region between Minnesota and Wisconsin known as Lake Pepin. Ralph Samuelson of Lake City, Minnesota, created and refined his skiing technique in late June and early July 1922.

 

In 2002 the Slovenian long-distance swimmer Martin Strel swam the entire length of the river, from Minnesota to Louisiana, over the course of 68 days.

 

In the 1930's, the Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service collaborated with the State of Minnesota on a project that changed the headwaters area from a swampy ground to an area that now is characterized by dry ground and fully grown trees. A low dam, fill, and rocks spanning the river are in place so that visitors can walk across the Mississippi River.

 

To move goods up and down the Mississippi, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a 9-foot shipping channel from Baton Rouge, La to Minneapolis, Mn. From Baton Rouge past New Orleans to Head of Passes, a 45 foot channel is maintained to allow ocean-going vessels access to ports between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Speed: At the headwaters of the Mississippi, the average surface speed of the water is near 1.2 miles per hour - roughly one-third as fast as people walk. At New Orleans, on 2/24/2003, the speed of the river was 3 miles per hour.

Width: At Lake Itasca, the river is between 20-30 feet wide, the narrowest stretch for its entire length.
The Mississippi is more than four miles wide at Lake Onalaska. Near LaCrosse, Wisconsin, Mississippi water held behind Lock and Dam #7 and water held back by damming the Black River combine to form this broad reach of the Mississippi River.

Length: River Length is a difficult measurement to pin down because the river channel is constantly changing. For example, staff at Itasca State Park, the Mississippi's headwaters, say the Mississippi is 2,552 miles long. The US Geologic Survey has published a number of 2,300 miles (3,705 kilometers), the EPA says it is 2,320 miles long, and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area maintains its length at 2,350 miles.

Depth: At its headwaters, the Mississippi is less than 3 feet deep. The river's deepest section is betweenGovernor Nicholls Wharf and Algiers Point in New Orleans where it is 200 feet deep.

Wildlife: The Mississippi River and its floodplain are home to a diverse population of living things:
At least 260 species of fishes, 25% of all fish species in North America;  Forty percent of the nation's migratory waterfowl use the river corridor during their Spring and Fall migration;  Sixty percent of all North American birds (326 species) use the Mississippi River Basin as their migratory flyway;  From Cairo, Il, upstream to Lake Itasca, there are 38 documented species of mussel. On the Lower Mississippi, there may be as many as 60 separate species of mussels;  The Upper Mississippi is host to more than 50 species of mammals;  At least 145 species of amphibians and reptiles inhabit the Upper Mississippi River environs.

 

Source: 

National Park Service

Wikipedia