Nama Sungai Mississippi berasal dari bahasa Ojibwe lama iaitu 'misi-ziibi' yang bermaksud 'sungai besar'. Sungai ini adalah sungai kedua terpanjang di benua Amerika Utara. Panjangnya 3733 km dari Tasik Itasca ke Teluk Mexico.
Sungai cawangan terpanjang Sungai Mississippi ialah Sungai Missouri, manakala Sungai Arkansas kedua terpanjang. Jika mengikut isipadu air pula, Sungai Ohio ialah cawangan Sungai Mississippi yang terbesar.
Geografi
Mengalir dari Tasik Itasca yang terletak pada aras 450 meter dari aras laut, di Taman Negeri Itasca terletak di Clearwater County, Minnesota. Sebelum air terjun St. Anthony di Minneapolis, tingginya 802 kaki dan menjadi 220 m selepas air terjun itu. Sungai Mississippi bertemu dengan Sungai Minnesota di Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sungai Wisconsin di Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, SungaiIllinois dan Sungai Missouri River dekat St. Louis, Missouri, dan Sungai Ohio River di Cairo, Illinois. Sungai Arkansas bertemu dengan Sungai Mississippi di negeri Arkansas. Sungai Atchafalaya bertemu di Louisiana.
Sungai Mississippi mengalir antara kawasan Pergunungan Rocky dengan Gunung Appalachian.
Tolong bantu menterjemahkan sebahagian rencana ini. Rencana ini memerlukan kemaskini dalam Bahasa Melayu piawai Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. Sila membantu, bahan-bahan boleh didapati di Sungai Mississippi(Inggeris).
Jika anda ingin menilai rencana ini, anda mungkin mahu menyemak di terjemahan Google. Walau bagaimanapun, jangan menambah terjemahan automatik kepada rencana, kerana ini biasanya mempunyai kualiti yang sangat teruk. Sumber-sumber bantuan:Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu.
Berikut beberapa jambatan di sepanjang sungai ini:
Jambatan Rock Island Government connecting Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa. Located just southwest of the site of the first bridge across the Mississippi River, it is one of only two bridges in the world with two sets of railroad tracks above the auto lanes. It also co-located with Lock and Dam #15 - the largest roller dam in the world.
Jambatan Santa Fe - di Fort Madison, Iowa, the largest double-deck swing-span bridge in the world; It is the last operating swing bridge over the Mississippi River for automobile traffic and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Clark Bridge also known as the Super Bridge as the result of an appearance on PBS program Nova. This cable-stay bridge constructed in 1994 connects Alton, Illinois to Black Jack, Missouri. It is the northernmost river crossing in the St. Louis metropolitan area and is named after explorer William Clark.
Chain of Rocks Bridge - A bridge on the northern edge of St. Louis, Missouri; famous for a 22-degree bend halfway across and the most famous alignment of Historic US 66 across the Mississippi.
Frisco Bridge - was the first crossing of the Lower Mississippi and the longest cantilever truss steel railroad bridge in North America when it opened on May 12, 1892. It connects Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas and is listed as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.