The Bettendorf Public Library presents “Life on the Mississippi River with John Lynn" -- March 18.
Thursday, March 18, 7 p.m.
Presented by the Bettendorf Public Library
The latest online presentation in the Bettendorf Public Library's popular “Community Connections” series, Life on the Mississippi River with John Lynn will find the Peoria-based lecturer and nature enthusiast hosting a virtual guided tour down “The Mighty Miss” as he shares tales of the body of water's course and character, and of general river life.
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows generally south for 2,320 miles to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. The main stem is entirely within the United States, and the total drainage basin is 1,151,000 square miles, of which only about one percent is in Canada. The Mississippi ranks as the 15th-largest river by discharge in the world, and either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Formed from thick layers of the river's silt deposits, the Mississippi embayment is one of the most fertile regions of the United States. Steamboats were widely used in the 19th and early 20th centuries to ship agricultural and industrial goods, and during the Civil War, the Mississippi's capture by Union forces marked a turning point towards victory, due to the river's strategic importance to the Confederate war effort. Because of substantial growth of cities and the larger ships and barges that replaced steamboats, the first decades of the 20th century saw the construction of massive engineering works such as levees, locks, and dams, often built in combination. A major focus of this work has been to prevent the lower Mississippi from shifting into the channel of the Atchafalaya River and bypassing New Orleans.
“Community Connections” presenter John Lynn has been described as a modern-day Huck Finn, having canoed solo down all 2,300 miles of the Mississippi River from its source at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to the Gulf of Mexico. A Peoria resident, Lynn has hiked, biked, and paddled enough historic and scenic trails, roads, and rivers to circle the globe, and has also photographed all 2,400 cities and towns in the state of Illinois. Lynn has been featured in both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, and as a lecturer, has shared his adventures and experiences with over 4,400 audiences in three countries.
Life on the Mississippi River with John Lynn will be presented in the Bettendorf Public Library's virtual “Community Connections” series at 7 p.m. on March 18, and the free event will take place via GoToMeeting. Registration is required to receive the invitation and password to the program, and more information is available by calling (563)344-4179 or visiting BettendorfLibrary.com.
