Not so mighty Mississippi River

Regular blog readers would know my affiliation with the mighty Mississippi, so you can imagine my distress to read headlines such as the 'Not so Mighty Mississippi'! However, even I couldn't fail to see the effect of the drought on the mighty river. We have seen the river in flood and now we are seeing it very low, and parts of the river bed that are usually under water are now exposed.

Mississippi running on low - taken earlier this week as we drove over a bridge

Mississippi in flood St Louis 2007

I read in a recent news article that "The river drains water from 40 percent of the U.S. mainland. So, when the U.S. is in a drought, the big river isn’t so big. In profound contrast to the near-record floods of last summer, the giant barges that carry everything from high fructose corn syrup, to grain, coal and diesel fuel are at risk of running aground. Sometimes they do. "

Not only has the current US drought been the worst in 56 years, but last winter was so mild that areas up north that usually receive several feet of snow only had a few inches. Consequently there was minimal melting snow to add to the river's water level and now with above average temperatures coinciding with rainfall that is 8 to 12 inches below normal in the catchment area, it is no wonder that water levels are low. Last Friday, while we were camping on the Mississippi River over the bridge from Memphis, the river was so low that a passenger Steamboat got stranded at Memphis. Earlier in the month a barge was grounded further north. 

Despite all of that, the Mississippi is still a magnificent body of water, and together with a full moon, it provided the backdrop for this twilight photo of my son Benn and his girlfriend Daina during their last days in USA. Quite spooky really!

Benn and Daina with feet dangling in the Mississippi