How clean is the water in the Mississippi River?


How clean is the water in the Mississippi River? The Mississippi River and its tributaries carry excessively high levels of nutrients that cause a biological dead zone to form at the river mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. This dead zone is referred to as hypoxia, which means very low oxygen in the water.


Is the Mississippi river a dead zone?

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.


Is it safe to eat fish from the Mississippi river?

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.


How long would it take to swim down the Mississippi river?

The average person can swim as fast as one to two miles per hour or at an average speed of 1.5 miles per hour. If a person were to swim the entire 24-hour day without stopping, they would cover 36 miles. It would take 65 days to swim the entire Mississippi River at this pace.


What is the deepest hole in the Mississippi river?

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.


How deep is the Mississippi water?

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.


What is the cleanest river in the United States?

The cleanest river in the United States is the Chattahoochee River. This river starts in the mountains of north Georgia and flows through the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Chattahoochee is one of the few rivers in the country that is still safe to swim in and fish in.


What is the cleanest part of the Mississippi river?

St. Paul — The Mississippi River remains a healthy, clean stream for much of the way down to about St. Cloud, the river's most pristine stretch on its 2,320-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico.


Has anyone swim in the 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.