BobRingReflections

There are three reasons why I chose this topic for a blog article.  First, the Mississippi River ties together a lot of the America history I’ve been writing about.  Second, there was much about the Mississippi that I didn’t know before starting this project.  And third, Pat and I are scheduled to take a steamboat cruise on the Mississippi River in the not-too-distant future.   I’ll start with an introduction to the Mississippi River and then discuss how the river formed and changed course over millions of years, including the Mississippi River Delta; then the first humans along the river; European exploration; colonization; the steamboat Era; the Civil War; selected 20 th and 21 st century events; navigation and flood control; ferries and bridges; and conclude with a snapshot of the Mississippi today, including environmental concerns. My principal sources for this article include “Mississippi River” and “Mississippi River Delta,” Wikipedia; “Mississippi River Facts,” nps.gov;