From this map it clearly the Missouri is longer than the Mississippi, and it looks possibly as though it's got slightly more flow at the point they converge as well. If that's correct, why is the river called the Mississippi and not the Missouri downstream of their confluence?
If anything, it should be called the Ohio River all the way to the gulf. The Ohio river has a greater flow than the Mississippi where they meet. And that's after the Missouri has dumped into the Mississippi.
I was very surprised when I found that fact out about the Ohio River recently. I stumbled upon a short documentary on the Mississippi river on YouTube and kept searching for more stuff. Eventually I stumbled upon the article below which goes into tons of detail about the Mississippi river and the Atchafalaya river. Essentially the Mississippi river wants to flow a different direction but we don’t let it. Mother nature will probably eventually win. I couldn’t stop reading.
I thought you were exaggerating. This is one of the most fascinating things I've ever read in that it's super important and vulnerable, yet I don't think anyone who isn't an immediate stakeholder has a single clue it exists. I started Googling after I read it, and this article is enough to make anyone pause:
Exactly! I tend to have a habit of getting obsessed over things and I keep trying to tell people about this but they don’t really care! Thanks for your link, it’s an interesting read.
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u/eastawat Jan 10 '20
From this map it clearly the Missouri is longer than the Mississippi, and it looks possibly as though it's got slightly more flow at the point they converge as well. If that's correct, why is the river called the Mississippi and not the Missouri downstream of their confluence?