<----Upstream River Stages
| Location | Height | Status |
|---|
| Mississippi River at Vicksburg (vckm6) | 16.61ft | Normal |
| Mississippi River at Natchez (ntzm6) | 25.74ft | Normal |
| Mississippi River at Knox Landing (klml1) | 29.83ft | Not Defined |
| Mississippi River at Red River Landing (rrll1) | 28.10ft | Normal |
USGS data shows that the Mississippi River's stream was reversed for approximately four hours. Supervising hydrologist Scott Perrien told CNN that flow reversals are "extremely uncommon."
Persistent heavy rains soaked the Mississippi River watershed in the first two months of 2020, swelling rivers from the Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico. The flood stage at that city is defined as 43.0 feet and at 10:00 a.m. EST the waters were reported at 48.9 feet.
At peak flow of 213,000 cubic feet per second, a total of 206 gates out of 350 were opened. Baton Rouge went above flood stage of 35.0 feet the morning of Jan 6, 2019. Red River Landing went above flood stage of 48.0 feet on Dec 28, 2018.
Flood Duration Data (1927 - Present)
| Rank | Duration (Days) | Year |
|---|
| 21 | 50 | 1937 |
Width. At Lake Itasca, the river is between 20 and 30 feet wide, the narrowest stretch for its entire length. The widest part of the Mississippi can be found at Lake Winnibigoshish near Bena, MN, where it is wider than 11 miles.
Heavy spring rains caused the Mississippi River to overflow, breaching levees and flooding enormous swathes of the Lower Mississippi Valley.
How low is the Mississippi? The river gauge at St. Louis has an observed value of -0.74 feet, 17th lowest on record (-6.10 feet on 01/16/1940 is record low).
The Mississippi River has been delivering people to Memphis for a long time.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It was deemed the flood of the century. On May 11, 2011, the Mississippi River rose to historic levels spilling over into portions of the Mid-South.
The World's Most Catastrophic Floods, in Photos
- The Johnstown Flood was so massive it equaled the flow of the Mississippi River.
- The Central China Flood may have killed as many as 3.7 million people.
- One flood was known as the “Great Drowning of Men.â€
Once considered an endangered species in the late 1960s, American Alligators have made a big comeback in the swampy marsh areas surrounding the Mississippi River. It is estimated that there are just over 30,000 alligators in Mississippi, with most centralized in the southern portion of the state.
UNDATED (WKRC) — A new study confirmed that two bull sharks swam up the Mississippi River and made it as far as St. Louis on two separate occasions. Cincinnati Museum Center paleontologist Ryan Shell and Nicholas Gardner, a librarian at WVU Potomac State College, published the study in the Marine and Fishery Sciences.
The deepest point on the Mississippi River is located near Algiers Point in New Orleans and is 200 feet in depth.
The Pearl and Pascagoula rivers are the breeding grounds for what is likely the largest fish that swims in Mississippi freshwater: the Gulf sturgeon. “Three hundred to 400 pounds is about the maximum,†Paul Hartfield of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.
Nobody should take the currents in the Mississippi River lightly. Every year, it seems, there are reports of drownings at places where people swim in the river. Paul, an area officials say is dangerous because of the Ford Parkway Lock and Dam, a steep underwater dropoff and the curve of the river.
There are many ways that an individual can drown in a river. It is possible that a drowning can happen due to a company that has provided services on the river. For example, a company may provide canoes, kayaks, boats, rafts, and more to be taken on a river ride.
