Mississippi river case study Flashcards
How long is the Mississippi river?
3,734 km
How many people had to move when the river flooded?
4,400
Where is it located?
South-East
How much damage did it cost when it flooded?
$13 million
How did they make the river deeper?
Raised levees
How high were these levees?
15 metres
How far did the levees stretch?
3000km
How did they make the river flow faster?
They cut through meanders.
What fraction of the USA’s water does the Mississippi river drain?
A third.
How far did they cut through meanders for?
1750km
How did they control the flow from the (main) tributaries?
Built dams
Give an example of a main tributary; how far did they control it for?
Ohio river
100 Dams
How did planting alot more trees help?
Increased interception and stabilised soil.
What is it called when trees are planted?
Afforestation.
Give an example of where trees were planted.
Tennessee Valley
What is a ‘safe flood zone’?
Where building has been restricted or stopped in a flood plain.
What happened to the existing houses on the floodplain?
It was bought by the county and demolished.
How many people rely on the Mississippi for their water supply?
18 million.
What is the source of the Mississippi?
Lake Itasca
How big is the drainage basin?
2.981 million km²
