What happens if Mississippi River dries up?

What will happen to the US if the Mississippi River dries up? If the Mississippi River dries up, transporting crops and goods up and down the river will no longer be a problem because there will be no crops to ship out and nobody left in the Midwest needing anything shipped in.



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Stretches of the Mississippi River within the park corridor exceed water quality standards for mercury, bacteria, sediment, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl), and nutrients. Unfortunately, these impairments can make the water unsuitable for fishing, swimming, and drinking.

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Over the years, a proposed solution has come up again and again: large-scale water diversions, including pumping Mississippi River water to the parched west.

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What Causes the Dead Zone? Heavy rains and melting snows washed massive amounts of nutrients—particularly nitrogen and phosphorus—from lawns, sewage treatment plants, farm land and other sources along the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico.

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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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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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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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Between where the Missouri River joins the Mississippi at Saint Louis, Missouri, and Cairo, Illinois, the depth averages 30 feet (9 m). Below Cairo, where the Ohio River joins, the depth averages 50–100 feet (15–30 m) deep. The deepest part of the river is in New Orleans, where it reaches 200 feet (61 m) deep.

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Many popular kinds of fish including bass, bream, crappie, freshwater drum, and small catfish (less that22 inches in length) are SAFE to eat. Farm-raised catfish are SAFE to eat.

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