The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest drainage system in North America. It starts in Minnesota and reaches over 2,300 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. The tributaries that feed the river are remarkable. The map at this link The Mississippi River Tributaries shows the drainages reaching as far west as Montana and Colorado and as far east as Pennsylvanie.
At Nauvoo the river currently is approximately 1 1/4 miles wide. In the 1839-46 period the river was slightly narrower and shallower.
In the early 1900's a dam was built at Keokuk (12 miles down river from Nauvoo) to improve navigation past the Des Moines Rapids and to provide a power plant. Lake Cooper was formed as a result of the dam ... raising the level of the water behind the dam approximately 20 feet. Some of the lots and homes in Old Nauvoo were covered when the dam was built.
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| This barge came from up river. |
The dam includes a lock that permits barges to navigate past the dam. The barges are quite large (easily the length of a football field) and heavily loaded with a variety of cargo.
The barges are pushed by a "towboat".
A typical barge carries 1500 tons of cargo, which is 15 times greater than a rail car and 60 times greater than one trailer truck. An average river tow on the Upper Mississippi River is 15 barges consisting of 5 barges tied together and moving 3 abreast. The same load would require a train 3 miles long or line of trucks stretching more than 35 miles.
