The vast majority of rivers are known to exhibit considerable variability in flow over time because inputs from the watershed, in the form of rain events, snowmelt, groundwater seepage, etc., vary over time.
River flow changes over time. The amount of water moving down a river at a given time and place is referred to as its discharge, or flow, and is measured as a volume of water per unit time, typically cubic feet per second or cubic meters per second.
There are several factors that contribute to the change in courses of the Mississippi River. The main factor is energy. The Mississippi is a very curvy, knowns as meandering, river.
Eventually the river will flow over flat land as it approaches the sea. As the river moves from the source to the mouth – both the depth of the river and the width of the river will both increase. The load of a river will also change as it is transported and eroded along the river's profile.
As the flow on one side of the river gets faster, it begins to slow down on the other. And because fast-moving water is required to help move along small sand-sized particles, all this dirt moves to the bottom, making the river shallower and shallower, until eventually it becomes land.
There are several factors that contribute to the change in courses of the Mississippi River. The main factor is energy . The Mississippi is a very curvy, knowns as meandering, river.
Meanwhile, the slower rate of flow on the inside of the river bend allows for the sediments being carried in the water to settle out and be deposited. This allows for the growth of meanders and the change in shape for the river.
These meanders that became cut off from the rest of the river system create lakes known as abandoned meanders or oxbow lakes. 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.
This waterway is not the Mississippi river but rather a passage connected to the Mississippi called the Yazoo River. While the Yazoo River flows past now, in 1863 this was not the case. At that point in time, the Mississippi flowed ...
The Yazoo River Diversion Project took 25 years to complete, lasting from 1878 until its completion in 1903. This once again gave river traffic access to the town of Vicksburg, which in turn helped bolster the town’s economy which was drying up due to lack of a functional river port.
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.
Water on the outside of a meander has a further distance to travel, thus it flows faster than the water on the inside of a meander.