louis jolliet was the first european to discover the mississippi river.
louis jolliet was the first european to discover the mississippi river.
who was the first european to discover the mississippi river?
louis jolliet
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conservation of the mississippi river watershed has become an important issue that many organizations are undertaking because the capacity of the river to remove nutrients from the water is decreasing and the surrounding ecosystems are being diminished. the mississippi river basin encompasses 31 u.s. states with an area of 1,837,000 square miles. the mississippi river's capacity to remove nutrients has diminished due to a range of human activities, such as development, taking place along the mississippi river itself and the streams and tributaries linked to it. the layouts of the river, the floodplains, and the watershed have also been modified using engineering techniques for acres of agriculture fields and urban expansion. with increase of natural prairie land being converted to land for agricultural and urban use, there has been an excess of nutrients that are discharged into the mississippi river and its adjoining streams. nitrates and phosphorus are the two main contaminants that pollute the mississippi river watershed. this nutrient pollution comes from a surplus of phosphorus and nitrogen, both of which occur naturally in water and air. in the upper mississippi river basin farmland, nitrate fertilizer has been overused in farming, with the high demand for corn as a contributing factor. corn, which is used to make ethanol for biofuel, has become the number one crop in the farmland that drains into the mississippi river. soybeans are another crop in the upper mississippi river basin farmland that drain into the watershed, and nitrates are the main fertilizer used on soybeans and corn.
mississippi river watershed conservation programs