Mississippi River Cruises

mississippi river cruises

Why not go on cruise of the river Mississippi. It is a great place to go on a boat trip or cruise. There are numerous stuff to do. Such as look at the scenery or enjoy the great culture of the river.

The Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of 2,340 miles from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. The longest river, a Mississippi tributary, is the Missouri River measuring 2,540 miles.

The name Mississippi is derived from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi ("Great River") or gichi-ziibi ("Big River") at its headwaters.

The river has series of 29 locks and dams on the upper Mississippi, most of which were built in the 1930s, is designed primarily to maintain a 9 ft deep channel for commercial barge traffic. The lakes formed are also used for recreational boating and fishing. The dams make the river deeper and wider but do not stop it. No flood control is intended. During periods of high flow, the gates, some of which are submersible, are completely opened and the dams simply cease to function. Below St. Louis, the Mississippi is relatively free flowing, although it is constrained by numerous levees and directed by numerous wing dams.

National Parks

There are seven National Park Service sites along the Mississippi River. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is the National Park Service site dedicated to protecting and interpreting the Mississippi River itself. The other six National Park Service sites along the river are (listed from north to south): Effigy Mounds National Monument, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, Vicksburg National Military Park, Natchez National Historical Park, New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. These national parks can looked at when visiting the area.

Here are some of the bridges in the river;

Stone Arch Bridge - a former Great Northern Railroad (now pedestrian) bridge in Minneapolis.
Interstate 35W Mississippi River Bridge - This bridge collapsed catastrophically on August 1, 2007, killing 13 and injuring over 100. It is scheduled to be replaced by the St. Anthony Bridge, to open in September 2008.
Black Hawk Bridge, connecting Lansing, Allamakee County, Iowa to rural Crawford County, Wisconsin, locally referred to as the Lansing Bridge and documented in the Historic American Engineering Record.
Julien Dubuque Bridge - A bridge connecting Dubuque, Iowa and East Dubuque, Illinois, that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Interstate 74 Bridge connecting Moline, Illinois, to Bettendorf, Iowa, is a twin suspension bridge, also known historically as the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge.
Rock Island Government Bridge 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 is co-located with Lock and Dam #15, the largest roller dam in the world.
Rock Island Centennial Bridge connecting Rock Island, Illinois, to Davenport, Iowa.
Norbert F. Beckey Bridge connecting Muscatine, Iowa, to Rock Island County, Illinois, became the country's first bridge to be illuminated with light-emitting diode lights decoratively illuminate the facade of the bridge.
Great River Bridge - cable-stayed bridge, connecting Burlington, Iowa, to Gulf Port, Illinois.
Santa Fe Bridge - in 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.
Quincy Bayview Bridge - cable-stayed bridge connecting Quincy, Illinois, and West Quincy, Missouri, via westbound US Highway 24. Eastbound traffic into Quincy is served by the older Quincy Memorial Bridge.

The Stone Arch Bridge, the Third Avenue Bridge, and the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, in Minneapolis, MN (2004)

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; famous for a 22-degree bend halfway across and the most famous alignment of Historic Route 66 across the Mississippi.
Eads Bridge - A bridge connecting St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois; the first major steel bridge in the world, and also a National Historic Landmark. This bridge now carries the St. Louis MetroLink light rail system.
Chester Bridge - The bridge that connects Chester, Illinois, to Missouri and eventually Perryville, Missouri. The bridge has been struck at least twice by tornadoes.
Hernando de Soto Bridge - carries Interstate 40 to connect Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas; listed in Guinness Book of World Records for its unique structural "letter" shape.
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 and West Memphis and is listed as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
Memphis & Arkansas Bridge - the longest Warren truss- style bridge in the United States which carries Interstate 55 to connect Memphis and West Memphis; also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Huey P. Long Bridge - Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, the first Mississippi River span built in Louisiana.
Crescent City Connection - connects the east and west banks of New Orleans, Louisiana; the 5th-longest cantilever bridge in the world.

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