Mississippi River Basin Map

It drains an area that has been historically one of the largest lead producers in the world, and associated mine wastes have contaminated sediments in much of the river corridor. This nifty animation, which we've featured previously, shows how all the mississippi's tributaries flow into it and eventually out into the gulf of mexico: Stretching from the allegheny mountains across to the rockies and south to the gulf of mexico, the mississippi river basin spans 1.245 million square miles in 31 states and two canadian provinces—forming the world’s fourth largest river basin.

According to britannica, its total distance is 2,340 miles (3,766 kilometers), making it the longest river in north america. The basin lies in the southern u.s. The mississippi/atchafalaya river basin (marb), which encompasses both the mississippi and the atchafalaya river basins, is the third largest in the world, after the amazon and congo basins.

More than 1,600 of those miles line the mississippi, and nearly 600 lie along the south banks of the arkansas and red rivers in the atchafalaya basin.

These are links that will take you to the coastal resilience website for more project background. This nifty animation, which we've featured previously, shows how all the mississippi's tributaries flow into it and eventually out into the gulf of mexico: More than 1,600 of those miles line the mississippi, and nearly 600 lie along the south banks of the arkansas and red rivers in the atchafalaya basin. These are links that will take you to the coastal resilience website for more project background.