Flooding in the mid-west? Are our members there okay?

[SwampDonkey]

   SwampDonkey, just a question. Did you make a typo on the river from Winnipeg that heads the Mississippi, or am I misunderstanding what you wrote? Cause the Mississippi River I know starts at Lake Itasca, near Park Rapids MN, flows north for a ways, then east for a ways, then in a southerly direction to the Gulf of Mexico.

Head of Mississippi could be a lot of places, just depends what source you follow. ;D Mississippi I know begins in Lake of the Woods region near Kenora, Ontario and meanders it's way to the Gulf of Mexico to. ;D Mississippi is east of Winnipeg when you travel route 2, the sign is right there in plane sight on the bridge. It's about 30 feet wide there.

But, when Don Starkell and his two sons paddled 12,000 miles from Winnipeg to the Amazon, he started up the Red River then down the Mississippi.

[gunman63]

Hey swampdonkey, I live 20 miles away from the source of the mississippi, it is Lake Itasca,MN. 100 miles south of the canada border, well really its elk lake which flows in to Itasca, but is a smaller lake so they dont  claim it is the headwaters. red flows north no way water will flow uphill over the contenental divide, I do beleive that lake of the woods flows east to the great lakes and between our 2 great countrys

[SwampDonkey]

I never said the Red flows up hill, I said the Starkell's began paddling up the red river, then they went down the Mississippi. There is a bit of a portage between. As far as the Lake of the Woods, I said the region. There happens to be a divide in there among all those lakes and streams. There is also a portage you make if you travel Lake of The Woods to get into the great lakes, it's a short one. That's why it's called the "Grand Portage". But it is fact. That was an old fur trade route for about 300 years. Too bad I can't get a decent map of rivers and streams and roads off internet. Google and such lack a lot of information at large scale so no way to show anyone much from that. Scale is too small for those darn travel maps. But, regardless it all depends on where your standing as to what is the source. I know if you travel on Route 2 from Kenora to Winnipeg you cross the Mississippi River, it's marked plane as day on the bridge sign. Unless there is some Twilight Zone magic on route 2 highway. ;D

[Gary_C]

Here is a good explanation of what went wrong this year, also from the AP News.

Several unusual factors sent the Red River surging to historic heights this year. The winter was unusually cold and snowy, which left a large snowpack sitting on top of frozen ground that couldn't absorb it. Then a warm snap and heavy rain quickly melted the snow and sent it into toward the river.

And it all happened to a river that flows north. When most rivers in the United States melt, they send the extra water south toward warmer, open water. When the Red breaks up, it sends hunks of ice north into colder water that is often still frozen.

[SwampDonkey]

Yup, and there is a mighty scope of land to the north, that is under water to. Just look at the northern part of Manitoba, two huge lakes and many more you can't even count.   ;D

[badpenny]

   Must be a twilight zone on hwy 2, as I can find hwy 17, 17A and 1 between Kenora and Winnipeg, but no hwy 2
   Mississippi River Fact Sheet

· The Mississippi is the longest river in North America

· The Mississippi River winds its way 2,552 miles as it travels from the headwaters in northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.

· The river begins 1,475 feet above sea level.

· The Mississippi passes through ten states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

· The Mississippi--Missouri River system is the world's fourth longest. Only the Nile, Amazon and Yangtze Rivers are longer.

· The Mississippi River drains approximately 40% of the continental United States-all or part of 31 states, and two Canadian provinces, Ontario and Manitoba.

· The total drainage area of the Mississippi River is approximately 1.25 million square miles.

   I also found a Mississippi River and a Mississippi Lake southwest of Ottawa

   

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah the Trans-Canada Highway begins here in the east as Route 2, each province gives it a different route number, I forgot. The road signs have a green maple leaf with the route number inset. It's the inter-provincial highway.

Never been south of Ottawa, other then flying in and out of Toronto, so I never drove over the other Mississippi you suggest.

Remains a mystery to me.  : I hope no one thinks that I think the Mississippi goes to Brazil. :D

[beenthere]

There is another Mississippi River, that is a tributary of the Ottawa River. Quite far east of the US Mississippi River. So me thinks SD is playing with our minds...or maybe his   ;D ;D ;D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River_(Ontario)

[SwampDonkey]

Well you know what might possibly be the trouble here is "The Great River Road". You suppose the sign by that stream was an upcoming exit or something? Just found this out on Wikipedia.

"The Great River Road is a collection of state, provincial, federal, and local roads which follow the course of the Mississippi River.

Divided into three main sections, the road consists of the Great River Road, the National Scenic Byway Route, and the Canadian Extensions. The eponymous segment runs on both sides of the river from Louisiana through the state borders of Kentucky/Illinois and Missouri/Iowa, excepting the full length of the road in Arkansas. A five-state section of the road has been designated a National Scenic Byway, running through Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The Canadian Extensions begin in Lake Itasca and Bemidji, Minnesota and branch out to Winnipeg, Manitoba and Minaki and Dryden, Ontario.

The over-all logo reads 'Canada to Gulf' "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_River_Road

Possibly ah, Beenthere? Heck man in that area there is water going everywhere, especially right now. :D

So, what you guys think? I guess I can't read signs, even when they are posted by streams. ;)

[badpenny]

   Further study of road maps,google earth and terraserver lead me to believe that a canoe trip from Winnipeg north to Lake Winnipeg, then south to Lake of The Woods(with a portage or two) then east by way of the Rainy River (with a portage or two) to Lake Superior,south to Duluth and the St. Croix river, which feeds into the Mississippi is indeed very possible.
   My apologies for taking this thread off topic. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of North Dakota and western Minnesota faced with a daunting task, and specifically both of my cousins living in Moorhead, across the river(now a lake?) from Fargo.

[SwampDonkey]

My apologies to, to anyone suffering out there. That ain't a fun piece of business. We got flooded along our river last spring (not me personally), but it looks bad again this spring. Ice is very thick, thicker than last spring.

badpenny, they never went down the Red River, they went up and went overland to the Mississippi, then down as far as I recall. It's all documented in "Paddle to the Amazon". I think one boy quit and they almost got killed in Central America.