Why the Mississippi Went Dry

Support the Channel by becoming a member 👉    / @itshistory   Request an episode here 👉 https://forms.gle/siuafjjyP8iHjQ2MA In the autumn of 2022, the Mississippi River dropped so low near Memphis that Civil War shipwrecks resurfaced from the mud, intact belt buckles and all. At Baton Rouge, a steamboat hull that sank in 1915 was exposed for the first time in over a century. Meanwhile, saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico pushed 60 miles upstream, contaminating drinking water for communities with no other source. The river had not gone dry — but by any historical standard, what happened was unthinkable. The reason goes back to a century of engineering decisions that began with good intentions. After the catastrophic 1927 flood drowned 700,000 people out of their homes and inundated 27,000 square miles of land, Congress handed the Army Corps of Engineers a mandate to tame the Mississippi permanently. They built levees, dug artificial cutoffs, and shortened the river by 170 miles. It worked — until it didn't. A faster, straighter river with no floodplains and no natural reserves proved catastrophic in drought, and the record lows of 2022 and 2023 were only the beginning. #ItsHistory #MississippiRiver #AmericanHistory IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.    • IT'S HISTORY 🔥 Trending   » Subscribe:    / @itshistory   » Listen podcasts: https://ffm.bio/itshistory » CONTACT For brands, agencies, and sponsorships: [email protected] Click here to book a sponsorship with me http://thoughtleaders.io/reserve/its-... » DISCLAIMER Some media elements in this video are used under the fair use provisions of U.S. copyright law (Title 17, Section 107) for purposes of commentary, criticism, and education. If you believe your image or content was used in a way that violates your rights, please contact us at [email protected] » CREDIT Scriptwriter - Ryan Socash Editor - Karolina Szwata Host - Ryan Socash » NOTICE Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section. » Sources NOAA National Weather Service — Memphis gauge records, 2022–2023 low water events NASA Earth Observatory — Aerial documentation, 2022 low water WBRZ Baton Rouge / Louisiana State Archaeologist Chip McGimsey — Brookhill shipwreck exposure, 2022 Scientific American — Saltwater intrusion, Gulf of Mexico, 2022–2023 NPR — Plaquemines Parish drinking water contamination, 2022–2023 Britannica — Steamboat history; Robert Fulton; New Orleans, 1811 American Battlefield Trust — New Orleans port rankings, 1846; Mississippi cotton production, 1820–1860 Mississippi Encyclopedia — John Adams sinking, 1851; steamboat era history Charles Dickens, American Notes, 1842 — Boiler explosion frequency National Park Service — Upper Mississippi barge tonnage, modern figures PBS American Experience / Grist — Charles Ellet congressional report, 1852; levees-only policy Mississippi Encyclopedia / 64 Parishes — 1927 flood statistics and aftermath Wikipedia / EBSCO — Flood Control Act of 1928, $325 million appropriation ASCE Transactions, Gerard H. Matthes — Diamond Point cutoff, 1933; 16 cutoffs; 170-mile shortening USGS Circular 1375 — Sediment load reduction; Louisiana coastal land loss Practical Engineering / Responsible Alpha — Old River Control Structure history; 1973 near-failure