We’re nowhere near the MississippiĀ River right now. But NPR’s Robert Krulwich has dug up this absolutely bonkers map, from the 1940s, which captures the migration of the river through all its jumps and cut-offs and channels. Basically, what you’ll see is that the Mississippi bears a striking resemblance to the Flying Spaghetti Monsterāand more seriously, that the entire map of the central United States is a relatively recent (and fragile) phenomenon.
New Madrid,Ā Missouri, for instance, is across the river from the old New Madrid,Ā Missouri, and, were it not for the Army Corps of Engineers, wouldn’t be across the river from anything, because there’s a natural cutoff further downstream; HuckĀ Finn’s JacksonĀ Island is probably gone; in Louisiana, the OldĀ River control system is the only thing keeping the Atchafalaya from capturing most of the Mississippi’s water and relocating the mouth of the big river west toĀ MorganĀ City.
Anyways, check it out.