Chapter 11: Gulf Coastal Plains and Mississippi Valley

The Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest drainage system in North America. It is ranked the fourth longest as well as the tenth largest in the world. The basin covers more than 1,245,000 square miles. According to Chris Mayda, "the river shifts some of its channels ten to twenty times a century as it courses at four miles per hour, ninety-six miles per day." The river is divided into three sections. There is the Upper Mississippi, the Middle Mississippi, and the Lower Mississippi. The Upper Mississippi runs its headwaters to its confluence with the Missouri River in St. Louis, Missouri. The Middle Mississippi runs from the St. Louis to the Ohio River. The Lower Mississippi runs from the Ohio River to the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. 

Sacramento River

The Sacramento River is the most important river in Northern and Central California in the United States. It drains an area of about 27,500 square miles. The Sacramento River provided a transportation route for the first people who settled more than 12,000 years ago. Gabriel Moraga, an early explorer, named the river, Rio de los Sacramentos. Like the Mississippi, the Sacramento River splits into sections. One is called the Upper Sacramento and the other is called the Pit.