Many of these abandoned meanders provide important marshland wildlife habitat. The last major change to the river's course in the Vicksburg area occurred in 1876. On April 26 of that year, the Mississippi River suddenly changed courses, leaving Vicksburg high and dry.
One of the world's most powerful earthquakes changed the course of the Mississippi River in Missouri and created Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee while shaking parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio.
The process whereby water moves sediment from one location to another is called erosion. Much like their stream models, as a stream continues to flow, it carries more and more sediment away, changing the shape of the stream.
Sediment Issue Louisiana's land loss crisis is due to a number of factors, but the leveeing of the Mississippi River disrupted this natural cycle. Now the sediment that once built this land is lost into the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico.
The force of the land upheaval 15 miles south of New Madrid, drowned the inhabitants of an Indian village; turned the river against itself to flow backwards; devastated thousands of acres of virgin forest; and created two temporary waterfalls in the Mississippi.
The fact that the Mississippi River ran backwards after the massive New Madrid earthquake of 1811 is now the stuff of legend, but did you know that it's run backwards at least twice since? It's strange, but true and had nothing to do with earthquakes either. I tend to be something of an earthquake nut.
Rivers Slowly Change the Geography Around Them Over time rivers slow in their erosion of the geography around them but are never quite done changing the landscape completely.
Rivers changing direction is relatively common, according to the scientists, but is usually caused by tectonic forces, landslides or erosion.
Humans have upset the delicate balance of land gain and loss in the Mississippi River Delta. Dams, levees and channels along the Mississippi have prevented land-forming sediments from reaching the delta, and most of those that do are discharged deep into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mississippi River and its tributaries have been plagued by nutrient runoff, specifically excess nitrogen and phosphorous. These nutrients are essential to growing soybeans and corn but are often unintentionally lost to rivers and streams, where they become a pollutant and waste farmers' money.
The modern Mississippi River Delta formed over the last approximately 4,500 years as the Mississippi River deposited sand, clay and silt along its banks and in adjacent basins. The Mississippi River Delta is a river-dominated delta system, influenced by the largest river system in North America.