{"id":10560,"date":"2014-01-13T09:56:56","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T16:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/?p=10560"},"modified":"2015-03-02T21:31:55","modified_gmt":"2015-03-03T04:31:55","slug":"a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tribute to the Mississippi&#8217;s Tributaries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Having grown up only a couples miles from the Mississippi, I&#8217;ve always been aware of its prominence. The <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Flag_of_St._Louis\">city flag<\/a> even features an illustration of the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Confluence\">confluence<\/a> of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers near the city. I remember being young, fascinated with the idea of two rivers joining; or the idea that even a single drop of water in Minneapolis would flow south past St. Louis and out past New Orleans and into the Gulf of Mexico. It&#8217;s a wonderful thought.<\/p>\n<p>But unlike a lake or ocean you didn&#8217;t go in it &#8211; it was <em>just there<\/em>. And at face value it&#8217;s only one squiggly line. But it&#8217;s actually more, a whole lot more. Check this out:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10561\" style=\"width: 1930px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10561\" data-attachment-id=\"10561\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/mississippi-tribute_1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_1.png?fit=1920%2C838&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,838\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The Mississippi River delta in the great state of Louisiana.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_1.png?fit=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_1.png?fit=640%2C280&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_1.png?resize=640%2C279&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"The Mississippi River delta in the great state of Louisiana.\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_1.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_1.png?resize=125%2C55&amp;ssl=1 125w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_1.png?resize=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_1.png?resize=1280%2C559&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_1.png?resize=1833%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1833w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10561\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Mississippi River delta in the great state of Louisiana.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10562\" style=\"width: 1930px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10562\" data-attachment-id=\"10562\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/mississippi-tribute_2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_2.png?fit=1920%2C838&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,838\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;National Atlas have a map &amp;#8220;streamer&amp;#8221; for tracing up- and downstream paths. Okay, click!&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_2.png?fit=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_2.png?fit=640%2C280&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_2.png?resize=640%2C279&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"National Atlas have a map &quot;streamer&quot; for tracing up- and downstream paths. Okay, click!\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_2.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_2.png?resize=125%2C55&amp;ssl=1 125w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_2.png?resize=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_2.png?resize=1280%2C559&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_2.png?resize=1833%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1833w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10562\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">National Atlas have a map &#8220;streamer&#8221; for tracing up- and downstream paths. Okay, click!<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10563\" style=\"width: 1930px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10563\" data-attachment-id=\"10563\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/mississippi-tribute_4\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_4.png?fit=1920%2C838&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,838\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"mississippi-tribute_4\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Scroll north of NOLA, you can see the Mississippi really starts to branch out.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_4.png?fit=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_4.png?fit=640%2C280&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_4.png?resize=640%2C279&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Scroll north of NOLA, you can see the Mississippi really starts to branch out.\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_4.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_4.png?resize=125%2C55&amp;ssl=1 125w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_4.png?resize=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_4.png?resize=1280%2C559&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_4.png?resize=1833%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1833w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10563\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scroll north of NOLA, you can see the Mississippi really starts to branch out.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10564\" style=\"width: 1930px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10564\" data-attachment-id=\"10564\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/mississippi-tribute_5\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_5.png?fit=1920%2C838&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,838\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Further north still, with lots of tributaries.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_5.png?fit=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_5.png?fit=640%2C280&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_5.png?resize=640%2C279&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Further north still, with lots of tributaries.\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_5.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_5.png?resize=125%2C55&amp;ssl=1 125w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_5.png?resize=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_5.png?resize=1280%2C559&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_5.png?resize=1833%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1833w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10564\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Further north still, with lots of tributaries.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10565\" style=\"width: 1930px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10565\" data-attachment-id=\"10565\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/mississippi-tribute_6\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_6.png?fit=1920%2C838&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,838\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Where I grew up in St. Louis, you can see the entire region pays homage to the Mississippi.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_6.png?fit=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_6.png?fit=640%2C280&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_6.png?resize=640%2C279&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Where I grew up in St. Louis, you can see the entire region pays homage to the Mississippi.\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_6.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_6.png?resize=125%2C55&amp;ssl=1 125w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_6.png?resize=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_6.png?resize=1280%2C559&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_6.png?resize=1833%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1833w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10565\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Where I grew up in St. Louis, you can see the entire region pays homage to the Mississippi.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10566\" style=\"width: 1930px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10566\" data-attachment-id=\"10566\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/mississippi-tribute_7\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?fit=1920%2C838&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,838\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Zoom out and you can see the entire tri- quad- octo-state region pays homage!&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?fit=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?fit=640%2C280&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?resize=640%2C279&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Zoom out and you can see the entire tri- quad- octo-state region pays homage!\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10566\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?resize=125%2C55&amp;ssl=1 125w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?resize=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?resize=1280%2C559&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?resize=1833%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1833w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10566\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zoom out and you can see the entire tri- quad- octo-state region pays homage!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But nothing could prepare you for&#8230;..<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10567\" style=\"width: 1930px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10567\" data-attachment-id=\"10567\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/mississippi-tribute_\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_.png?fit=1920%2C838&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,838\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#8217;s unfathomable how many rivers and regions pump water towards and into the Mississippi. Just fascinating!&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_.png?fit=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_.png?fit=640%2C280&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_.png?resize=640%2C279&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"It&#039;s unfathomable how many rivers and regions pump water towards and into the Mississippi. Just fascinating!\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_.png?resize=125%2C55&amp;ssl=1 125w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_.png?resize=500%2C218&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_.png?resize=1280%2C559&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_.png?resize=1833%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1833w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10567\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It&#8217;s unfathomable how many rivers (7,000, actually) and regions pump water towards and into the Mississippi. Simply fascinating!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Check out the map <a href=\"http:\/\/nationalatlas.gov\/streamer\/Streamer\/streamer.html\">&#8220;Streamer&#8221;<\/a> for yourself. Maps!!<\/p>\n<p>[via <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/articles\/news_and_politics\/map_of_the_week\/2013\/07\/chart_tributaries_of_the_mississippi_river.html\">Slate<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/MapPorn\/comments\/1ilgyq\/map_of_the_7000_rivers_that_feed_into_the\/\">Reddit<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE:<\/strong> with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rawstory.com\/rs\/2014\/01\/10\/west-virginians-risk-non-stop-vomiting-if-they-drink-or-touch-water-after-chemical-spill\/\">news in West Virginia<\/a> of that great state&#8217;s drinking water being <a href=\"http:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/all\/west-virginia-chemical-spill-water\">shut off for several days<\/a> due to a <a href=\"http:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2014\/1\/west-virginia-chemicalspillcoalminingcleanwater.html\">faulty chemical storage unit<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2538144\/Were-not-Reporter-corners-arrogant-CEO-tries-avoid-questions-chemical-spillage-thats-left-300-000-people-without-water-brazenly-drinks-bottled-water-camera.html\">the turds<\/a> who run <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/preview#!q=Freedom+Industries&#038;data=!1m4!1m3!1d15755!2d-81.605966!3d38.368809!4m15!2m14!1m13!1s0x0%3A0x590d8e0d835eeaa3!3m8!1m3!1d15756!2d-81.6165667!3d38.3638702!3m2!1i1920!2i967!4f13.1!4m2!3d38.3688733!4d-81.6066384\">Freedom Industries<\/a> not really giving a shit about peoples&#8217; water while they sip Aquafina from bottles, this was a prescient post, and that chemistry will eventually find its way to the Gulf of Mexico:<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10600\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico.jpg?fit=1920%2C884&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,884\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico.jpg?fit=500%2C230&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico.jpg?fit=640%2C295&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico.jpg?resize=640%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico\" width=\"640\" height=\"295\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico.jpg?resize=125%2C58&amp;ssl=1 125w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico.jpg?resize=500%2C230&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico.jpg?resize=1280%2C589&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico.jpg?resize=1738%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1738w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><br \/>\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10601\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-tribute-to-the-mississippis-tributaries\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail.jpg?fit=1920%2C884&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,884\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail.jpg?fit=500%2C230&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail.jpg?fit=640%2C295&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail.jpg?resize=640%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail\" width=\"640\" height=\"295\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail.jpg?resize=125%2C58&amp;ssl=1 125w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail.jpg?resize=500%2C230&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail.jpg?resize=1280%2C589&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/west-virginia_to_the_gulf-of-mexico_detail.jpg?resize=1738%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1738w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Of course, as we all know, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rawstory.com\/rs\/2014\/01\/14\/john-boehner-confident-west-virginia-has-ample-regulations-despite-huge-chemical-spill\/\">Obama and regulations<\/a> (and maps no doubt!) are to blame for this tragedy.<\/p>\n<div class='ctx-module-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix'><\/div><span class=\"ctx-article-root\"><!-- --><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Having grown up only a couples miles from the Mississippi, I&#8217;ve always been aware of its prominence. The city flag even features an illustration of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers near the city. I remember being young, fascinated with the idea of two rivers joining; or the idea that even a single [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1002,867],"series":[],"class_list":["post-10560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-geekathon","tag-map","tag-mississippi-river"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mississippi-tribute_7.png?fit=1920%2C838&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6OfVu-2Kk","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10560"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10603,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10560\/revisions\/10603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10560"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=10560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}