Day 4 Prompt: Rivered

   

The Mississippi River and its floodplain are home to a diverse population of living things:

At least 260 species of fish, 25% of all fish species in North America;

Forty percent of the nation's migratory waterfowl use the river corridor during their Spring and Fall migration;

Sixty percent of all North American birds (326 species) use the Mississippi River Basin as their migratory flyway;

From Cairo, IL upstream to Lake Itasca there are 38 documented species of mussel. On the Lower Mississippi, there may be as many as 60 separate species of mussel;

The Upper Mississippi is host to more than 50 mammal species;

At least 145 species of amphibians and reptiles inhabit the Upper Mississippi River environs.

"Rivers are controlled at their mouths..."  

-Lawrence Powell, The Accidental City