Mississippi flood Case Study
- Created by: OrlaghMarie
- Created on: 06-05-14 17:55
Mississippi - the Facts
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The river basin is the fifth largest in the world
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It is the third longest river in the world behind the Nile & the Amazon
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The river discharges 584 million tonnes of sediment a year
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The flood plain is 200km wide at its widest point
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The Mississippi flows through 10 states
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The river carries 13% of all freight traffic in the USA
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Its main tributaries are the R. Ohio, R. Kansas, R. Missouri & the Red River
The Causes of the 1993 Flood
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Floods are normal in the mid-west - usually arriving in the spring when rain and snowmelt fill the streams & rivers that drain the upper Mississippi Basin
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In 1993 as normal this happened - the soil was still saturated from spring rains. Normally this is followed by dry weather &has done so for the last 20 years
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In 1993 Atmospheric conditions conspired to bring further torrential rains to the Mississippi Basin
a. A Jet stream swung South bringing Cool dry air
b. Warm air moved North causing…
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