MississippiRiver

Mississippi River

The chief river of the United States, rising in the lake region of northern Minnesota and flowing about 3,781 km (2,350 mi) generally southward to enter the Gulf of Mexico through a huge delta in southeast Louisiana. Probably discovered by Hernando de Soto in 1541, it was explored by Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet in 1673. La Salle claimed the entire region for France after he descended to the river's mouth in 1682.

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