The Father of Waters

The Father of Waters. . , "Old Man River" is indeed a very old river that has changed through time. About 12,000 years ago, the glacial Lake Agassiz drained down the River Warren to create the Mississippi River. Imagine a massive, ancient waterfall cascading before you. Spanning some 2,700 feet across and tumbling 175 feet from top to bottom, a waterfall existed right here in downtown Saint Paul some 11,000 years ago. Over thousands of years, the falls eroded the soft limestone riverbed and retreated up the river to what is now Saint Anthony Falls in downtown Minneapolis, carving the only gorge along the entire length of the Mississippi., Named by the Ojibwe, "Mississippi" means "the father of waters, or great waters." Early written accounts of the Mississippi portray it as a great river of winding gorges and white water., At left, a rendering of Saint Anthony Falls, 1778 , Artwork courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society, [Caption:] Skipjack Herring, According to a paddleboat passenger of the 1800s, "The channel was very crooked, winding about between reefs of solid rock with an eight to ten mile current.", Its bluffs, bottomland forests, open water, wetlands, and islands responded to the natural pulse of the river's cycles and were a haven for wildlife. Fish, such as the skipjack herring, migrated up the river each spring to spawn. Eagles, frogs, turtles, ducks, deer, river otters, foxes, sparrows, beavers, and much more thrived in and along the river.