Has anyone ever swam the entire Mississippi River?

The first person on record to swim the entire Mississippi River was Martin Strel in 2002. Strel swam the entire River in 68 days. Martin Strel is a Slovenian professional swimmer who had made a name for himself as an athlete many years before attempting the swim.



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LECLAIRE, Iowa -- The Mississippi River is about 2,400 miles long. It takes a drop of water about 90 days to make its journey all the way down from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. But for a woman on a paddle board, you're looking at about a three-month journey.

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Martin Strel: He is a Slovenian endurance swimmer who swam the entire length of the Mississippi River in 2002. The swim took him 68 days to complete and he covered a distance of 2,360 miles (3,800 km). Ross Edgley: He is a British adventurer and athlete who swam the entire length of the Mississippi River in 2018.

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The Mississippi River is the primary river, and second-longest river, of the largest drainage basin in the United States. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows generally south for 2,340 miles to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico.



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The worst-ever dry period occurred in the late 1500s. However, the dry years of 2021 and 2022 exceeded the 1500's drought length. This means the last 22 years are the driest in 1,200 years.

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At its widest is 11 miles across and at its narrowest is 20 to 30 feet across. 5. At its deepest is 200 ft and at its shallowest point is 3 feet deep.

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How deep is the Mississippi? While mere inches at the headwaters, the river's depth drops dramatically once you get close to its mouth. The deepest point, near Algiers Point in New Orleans, is about 200 feet.

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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (Thanks to the great work of public utilities, treated drinking water from the Mississippi is safe and delicious!)

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The natural deepest hole in the entire Mississippi Drainage is off Algier's Point (opposite Jackson Square), where it dives to 250 feet deep. Most Rivergator sections are at least 90% wilderness and no more than 10% industry.

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A 19th-century shipwreck and human remains were uncovered as the Mississippi River recedes. Drought has unearthed a sunken 19th-century shipwreck and human remains in the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River is receding to historic lows amid drought across the Midwest.

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Typically, the large volume of fresh water flowing down the Mississippi River toward the Gulf of Mexico has enough force to push out the salt water, but recent drought conditions have brought the Mississippi's water levels down, weakening its flow and allowing salt water from the Gulf to encroach.

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The Congo is the deepest river in the world. Its headwaters are in the north-east of Zambia, between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa (Malawi), 1760 metres above sea level; it flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

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The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is an area of hypoxic (link to USGS definition) (less than 2 ppm dissolved oxygen) waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Its area varies in size, but can cover up to 6,000-7,000 square miles.

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