By Jerianne Zona. Mark Twain was Samuel Clemens's pen name “Mark the Twain” was ordered on...
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Transcript of By Jerianne Zona. Mark Twain was Samuel Clemens's pen name “Mark the Twain” was ordered on...
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
By Jerianne Zona
“Marking The Twain”
Mark Twain was Samuel Clemens's pen name
“Mark the Twain” was ordered on ships to test the depth of the water
“twain” = two 1 fathom = 6 feet
Photo by www.terrycolon.com
Claiming the Name
The name “Mark Twain” was originally used by a riverboat Pilot, Isaiah Sellers
“He died in 1869 and as he could no longer need that signature, I laid violent hands upon it without asking permission of the proprietor’s remains.” -Samuel Clemens
Photo from http://scripophily.net/marktwainimage.html
Steamboat Captain
“When I was a boy there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades…that was to be a steamboat man.” –Samuel Clemens
By 1859 he was a licensed steamboat pilot
Lost his job in 1861 due to the Civil War
Photo fromhttp://steamboattimes.com/mark_twain_2.html
Life on the Mississippi "The Mississippi is well
worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world--four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.“ –Mark Twain
Photo from www.goodreads.com
Steamboats
Revolutionized the way people lived around the Mississippi River
In 1815 the Enterprise made the first upriver voyage from New Orleans to Pittsburgh
Photo from www.wikipedia.org
Huck and Jim’s Escape
Huck escapes his father Jim escapes slavery “So in two seconds away we went a-
sliding down the river, and it did seem so good to be free again and all by ourselves on the big river, and nobody to bother us.” –Huck
Photo from www.americancruiselines.com
The Discovery of the Mississippi
Hernando De Soto 1539
Photos from www.wikipedia.org
Geography Starts in Lake Itaska in Minnesota Empties into the Gulf of Mexico in
Louisiana 2,320 miles long
Photo from www.nola.com
Bordering States of the Mississippi River
Arkansas Illinois Iowa Kentucky Louisiana Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Tennessee Wisconsin
Photo from www.reddit.com
The Mississippi River Then
In the early 1800s, many people did not really understand what pollution was, how to prevent it, or the effects of it
Fifty Years on the Mississippi by Emerson Gould in 1811 is the first source of information about Pollution in the river
The Mississippi River Now
More than 12.7 million pounds of toxic chemicals were dumped into the Mississippi River in 2010
Some of the toxins are known to be very harmful to humans
11%http
://youtu.be/m4WBbSv_N7U Photo from patchworkreflections.blogspot.com
The Cause of Pollution
Superfund Plants
Photo from blogs.riverfronttimes.com
Runoff
Fertilizer
Animal Manure
Climate
“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” -Mark Twain
Humid sub-tropical climate Long summers Short, mild winters Recent human induced climate changes
Drought
January 2013 Record-breaking low water levels that
threaten to shut down traffic on the river Engineers and water managers were
ordered to tweak upstream reservoirs
Photo from beforeitnews.com
Floods Property
Damage Economic
Losses Environmental
changes Floods
1927 1937 1973 2011
Photo from www.npr.org
Weather Thunderstorms
Tornadoes Hurricanes
Photo from hisfootstep.com
Mississippi River Facts
Third longest river system in the world The river’s tributaries supply drinking
water to more than 18 million people A raindrop falling in Lake Itaska would
arrive at the Golf of Mexico in about 90 days
Provides critical habitat for rare creatures like the Louisiana Black Bear
Transportation
60% of all grain exported from the U.S. is shipped from the Mississippi River
Petroleum Products Coal
Photo from foodurecognize.wordpress.com & http://sathiyam.tv/english/business/montek-hiking-coal-prices
Tourism Boating
Fishing
Historical Sites
Museums
Parks
Recreation SitesPhoto from www.timpruitt.com
Mark Twain and the River
"Your true pilot cares nothing about anything on earth but the river, and his pride in his occupation surpasses the pride of kings.” –Mark Twain
“Piloting on the Mississippi River was not work to me; it was play -- delightful play, vigorous play, adventurous play -- and I loved it...” –Mark Twain
Photo from www.wikimedia.com
Bibliography
Adapted from original articles in The Goldfinch 6, No. 4 (April 1985). Iowa City: State Historical Society of Iowa and Mississippi River Teacher's Handbook, 1999, Iowa Public Television.
A+E Networks, Mark Twain Biography Blythe Bernhard, Mississippi River is Second-Most
Polluted U.S. Waterway Hamline University Graduate School of Education,
Mississippi Feature, St. Paul, MN Hamline University Graduate School of Education,
River Facts and Figures, St. Paul, MN
Bibliography (cont.)
John Schwartz, Keeping the Boats Moving Along a Mississippi Dwindled by Drought
Johnson, Fry & Co., DeSoto’s Discovery of the Mississippi, 1541, NY
Michael Rudeen, Where did Mark Twain Get His Pen Name?
Taja Hanson, A&S195 SP10, Jacqueline Lewton, A&S195 SP11, Understanding of Pollution in the Mississippi River Has Changed Over Time
Tim Pruitt, World Record 124-Pound Blue Catfish
Bibliography (cont.)
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/DETOC/transport/steamboats.html
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/twain/aa_twain_name_2.html
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/habitats/riverslakes/placesweprotect/mississippi-river.xml
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lix/?n=ms_flood_history