Minnesota
is known as "the land of 10000 lakes". There are actually more like 15000 lakes
over 10 acres (4 hektar) in size
(and many others, that are smaller). One of these lakes is Lake Itasca. That is where the Mississippi River starts.
On July 10, we drove 100 miles /160 km to see where the mighty river begins.
(and many others, that are smaller). One of these lakes is Lake Itasca. That is where the Mississippi River starts.
On July 10, we drove 100 miles /160 km to see where the mighty river begins.
I
have wanted to see the Mississippi headwaters (udspring) since I was a girl. I
saw pictures of people walking across the narrow river, and I wished to do it
myself. Never made it – it is a long way from anything. Today I did😊
Some
facts about the Mississippi River:
The
name Mississippi comes from the Ojibwe word for “river spread over a large
area”.
(Ojibwe er en indianerstamme der var/er i Minnesota).
(Ojibwe er en indianerstamme der var/er i Minnesota).
The
river by itself, is the fourth longest river in the world. It is 2552 miles
long. 694 of those miles are in Minnesota.
It
has many tributary streams and rivers (andre vandløb der løber ind i
Mississippi floden), the 2 largest are the Missouri and Ohio Rivers. The
combined river system is about 15000 miles long.
A
raindrop falling in Lake Itasca would take about 90 days to reach the Gulf of
Mexico.
The
average flow of the river is 6 cubic ft./sec. (30-60 gallons) at the
headwaters. It is 468000 cubic ft/sec. (4.5-5.5 million gallons) at the Gulf of
Mexico (about 80000 times more).
The
width coming out of Lake Itasca is 18 ft/5,5m (and a little later as narrow as
10 ft(3m)). At the Gulf of Mexico it is 2 miles wide (ca. 3 km).
 |
| Above the rocks: Lake Itasca - below the rocks: The Mississippi river |
 |
| The Mighty Mississippi River |
It
was a nice day.
Written
by Mary
P.S.
JJ
read that the water lily (åkande) is the largest wild flower in Minnesota. Here
is a really nice example of the flower, that we saw on our trip today.
P.P.S.
Although the "big trip" has come to an end and all the must sees have been ticked off, we still have almost a month left in Minnesota. Since the blog is also our diary (dagbog) we will still post once in a while.
P.P.P.S.
We are still working on our top-10 list(s)😊.
P.P.S.
Although the "big trip" has come to an end and all the must sees have been ticked off, we still have almost a month left in Minnesota. Since the blog is also our diary (dagbog) we will still post once in a while.
P.P.P.S.
We are still working on our top-10 list(s)😊.
I have a cousin who got married while standing in those headwaters just below the rocks. The entire wedding party was in the water - including the minister - and then they walked down the beginning of the river as shown in your picture above for a little ways. Probably the most unique wedding I've ever been to!
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