MISSISSIPPI As Viking announces its expansion into the American interior, we take a look at some of the highlights that line the iconic Mississippi waterway
Clockwise, from above: Viking Mississippi has been purpose built for this magical river; great egrets on a misty morning; relax and soak up the views in the Explorers’ Lounge
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rom the headwaters in Minnesota to its delta in the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River stretches for 2,350 miles and winds through America’s heartland. The river was formed when the last ice age ended, about 10,000 years ago. Water from the melting ice sheet gathered in a vast network of north-to-south channels that carved out the Mississippi Valley.
HISTORY
Native Americans have lived along the Mississippi’s banks for thousands of years. First to use the river for commerce, the earliest Native Americans established a network of trade routes; later, large population centres, including a metropolis across from present-day St. Louis called Cahokia, were formed. And it was the Algonquianspeaking people who named the river: Misi-ziibi, roughly translated as the “Great River” or “Father of waters”. American history is bound with the Mississippi. When the Revolutionary War ended, the river became the new nation’s western border. That changed in 1803, when the Louisiana Purchase ceded control of the river – and the lands west of it – to the United States. New communities formed, supported by paddle-wheel steamboats that facilitated commerce and transportation.
Control of this valuable resource was critical for both sides during the Civil War.
LOGISTICS
Controlling the waterways that make up the Mississippi has challenged government leaders and the Army Corps of Engineers for more than 100 years. A system of 29 locks and dams in the Upper Mississippi help facilitate barge traffic and regulate water levels. And on the more heavily trafficked Lower Mississippi, the river is restrained by levees and dikes to help control seasonal flooding. Today the Mississippi remains one of the world’s hardest-working waterways, generating more than $400 billion in annual revenue, supporting 1.3 million jobs and powering local economies. Low barges transport cotton, grain and other agricultural products from the heartland. And revitalised riverfronts along the Mississippi VIKING
