THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

By Jerianne Zona

“Marking The Twain”

Mark Twain was Samuel Clemens's pen name

“Mark the Twain” was ordered on ships to test the depth of the water

“twain” = two 1 fathom = 6 feet

Photo by www.terrycolon.com

Claiming the Name

The name “Mark Twain” was originally used by a riverboat Pilot, Isaiah Sellers

“He died in 1869 and as he could no longer need that signature, I laid violent hands upon it without asking permission of the proprietor’s remains.” -Samuel Clemens

Photo from http://scripophily.net/marktwainimage.html

Steamboat Captain

“When I was a boy there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades…that was to be a steamboat man.” –Samuel Clemens

By 1859 he was a licensed steamboat pilot

Lost his job in 1861 due to the Civil War

Photo fromhttp://steamboattimes.com/mark_twain_2.html

Life on the Mississippi "The Mississippi is well

worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world--four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.“ –Mark Twain

Photo from www.goodreads.com

Steamboats

Revolutionized the way people lived around the Mississippi River

In 1815 the Enterprise made the first upriver voyage from New Orleans to Pittsburgh

Photo from www.wikipedia.org

Huck and Jim’s Escape

Huck escapes his father Jim escapes slavery “So in two seconds away we went a-

sliding down the river, and it did seem so good to be free again and all by ourselves on the big river, and nobody to bother us.” –Huck

Photo from www.americancruiselines.com

The Discovery of the Mississippi

Hernando De Soto 1539

Photos from www.wikipedia.org

Geography Starts in Lake Itaska in Minnesota Empties into the Gulf of Mexico in

Louisiana 2,320 miles long

Photo from www.nola.com

Bordering States of the Mississippi River

Arkansas Illinois Iowa Kentucky Louisiana Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Tennessee Wisconsin

Photo from www.reddit.com

The Mississippi River Then

In the early 1800s, many people did not really understand what pollution was, how to prevent it, or the effects of it

Fifty Years on the Mississippi by Emerson Gould in 1811 is the first source of information about Pollution in the river

The Mississippi River Now

More than 12.7 million pounds of toxic chemicals were dumped into the Mississippi River in 2010

Some of the toxins are known to be very harmful to humans

11%http

://youtu.be/m4WBbSv_N7U Photo from patchworkreflections.blogspot.com

The Cause of Pollution

Superfund Plants

Photo from blogs.riverfronttimes.com

Runoff

Fertilizer

Animal Manure

Climate

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” -Mark Twain

Humid sub-tropical climate Long summers Short, mild winters Recent human induced climate changes

Drought

January 2013 Record-breaking low water levels that

threaten to shut down traffic on the river Engineers and water managers were

ordered to tweak upstream reservoirs

Photo from beforeitnews.com

Floods Property

Damage Economic

Losses Environmental

changes Floods

1927 1937 1973 2011

Photo from www.npr.org

Weather Thunderstorms

Tornadoes Hurricanes

Photo from hisfootstep.com

Mississippi River Facts

Third longest river system in the world The river’s tributaries supply drinking

water to more than 18 million people A raindrop falling in Lake Itaska would

arrive at the Golf of Mexico in about 90 days

Provides critical habitat for rare creatures like the Louisiana Black Bear

Transportation

60% of all grain exported from the U.S. is shipped from the Mississippi River

Petroleum Products Coal

Photo from foodurecognize.wordpress.com & http://sathiyam.tv/english/business/montek-hiking-coal-prices

Tourism Boating

Fishing

Historical Sites

Museums

Parks

Recreation SitesPhoto from www.timpruitt.com

Mark Twain and the River

"Your true pilot cares nothing about anything on earth but the river, and his pride in his occupation surpasses the pride of kings.” –Mark Twain

“Piloting on the Mississippi River was not work to me; it was play -- delightful play, vigorous play, adventurous play -- and I loved it...” –Mark Twain

Photo from www.wikimedia.com

Bibliography

Adapted from original articles in The Goldfinch 6, No. 4 (April 1985). Iowa City: State Historical Society of Iowa and Mississippi River Teacher's Handbook, 1999, Iowa Public Television.

A+E Networks, Mark Twain Biography Blythe Bernhard, Mississippi River is Second-Most

Polluted U.S. Waterway Hamline University Graduate School of Education,

Mississippi Feature, St. Paul, MN Hamline University Graduate School of Education,

River Facts and Figures, St. Paul, MN

Bibliography (cont.)

John Schwartz, Keeping the Boats Moving Along a Mississippi Dwindled by Drought

Johnson, Fry & Co., DeSoto’s Discovery of the Mississippi, 1541, NY

Michael Rudeen, Where did Mark Twain Get His Pen Name?

Taja Hanson, A&S195 SP10, Jacqueline Lewton, A&S195 SP11, Understanding of Pollution in the Mississippi River Has Changed Over Time

Tim Pruitt, World Record 124-Pound Blue Catfish

Bibliography (cont.)

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/DETOC/transport/steamboats.html

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/twain/aa_twain_name_2.html

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/habitats/riverslakes/placesweprotect/mississippi-river.xml

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lix/?n=ms_flood_history