Facts Country States it flows through Length Number of tributaries Source Mouth Location
USA Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Minnesota 6020 kilometres 250 Montana, USA. Louisiana into the Gulf of Mexico
The Mississippi river is the fourth longest in the World. Its main tributary is the Missouri, which makes it over 6000 kilometres in length. The source of the Missouri river is high in the Rocky Mountains in a state called Montana. The river is nicknamed "Big Muddy" as it transports a lot of sand and mud and appears as a very muddy river. The Missouri flows south and enters the Mississippi as a tributary a few miles north of St. Louis. The source of the Mississippi is near Lake Itasca in Minnesota. The Mississippi turns south at the Grand Rapids where it drops 20 metres over the Falls of St. Anthony of the USA. It then continues its journey south through the cities of Memphis and New Orleans towards its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico. There is a delta at the mouth of the Mississippi. The Mississippi is the boundary for 10 states.