Fun Facts about the National Park in our backyard
The 54,000-acre Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) was established by Congress in
1988. A true partnership park, the National Park Service owns very little land within its borders but
works with 25 local governments, several state agencies, and numerous organizations to protect the
globally significant resources along the 72-mile stretch of river running through the Minneapolis/Saint
Paul metro area. The Mississippi River Visitor Center is located in the lobby of the Science Museum of
Minnesota in downtown Saint Paul!
Here are some things you might not know about the river at the heart of our own National Park:
At the headwaters of the Mississippi, the average surface speed of the water is 1.2 miles per hour. People
typically walk 3 miles per hour.
At Lake Itasca, the elevation of the Mississippi River is 1,475 feet above sea level. It drops to sea level at
the Gulf of Mexico. More than half of that drop occurs within the state of Minnesota.
The river is so shallow at Lake Itasca that children can walk across the Mississippi. Between Governor
Nicholls Wharf and Algiers Point in New Orleans, the Mississippi is more than 200 feet deep.
Sixty percent of all grain exported from the United States is transported and shipped on the Mississippi
River.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 50 cities rely on the Mississippi River for
their daily water supply.
Over 600 men worked around the clock using hand tools, horses and coal powered shovels to build the
original Coon Rapids Dam in 1913. The dam was rebuilt between 1995 and 1997.
The Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is
49 feet deep.
The Mississippi River Basin, or watershed, drains 41% of the continental United States, including 31
states and two Canadian provinces.
In 1952, the Mississippi River flooded hundreds of acres of farmland and multiple cities. Over 2,000
families were homeless because of the high water.
Source: http://www.nps.gov/miss/
Media Contacts:
Kim Ramsden, PR Director, (651) 221-9423, [email protected]
Sarah Imholte, PR Specialist, (651) 221-9412, [email protected]
Peg Roessler, Roessler Public Relations, (612) 200-8600, [email protected]