which ten states does the mississippi river cross or border
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the chief river of the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system.[13][14] The stream is entirely within the United States (although its drainage basin reaches into Canada), its source is in northern Minnesota and it flows generally south for 2,320 miles (3,730Â km)[14] to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth-longest and fifteenth-largest river in the world by discharge. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.[15][16]
List of river borders of U.S. states Because of its unique history, many of the boundaries of the political divisions of the United States were artificially constructed (rather than being permitted to evolve and drawn using natural features of the landscape). Therefore, many U.S. states have straight lines as boundaries, especially in the West. However, there are a number of states, particularly in the Midwest, North and South with at least partial river borders.