Mississippi River

Mississippi River. Chippewa Lookout. , Constantly changing, yet always having a profound effect on life within it's watershed, the Mississippi River is noted countless times in the history of our nation., Often referred to as the "Father of Waters," the Mississippi traverses nearly the entire width of the United States. In terms of water volume, it is the largest river in the United States, and the seventh largest in the world. The Mississippi winds 2,470 miles from its source at Itasca State Park to its mouth, where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Of this total length, 660 river miles are in Minnesota. Crow Wing State Park is located 320 miles from it's [sic] source, and 2,150 miles from the river's mouth., For centuries American Indians used the river as a vital life source. Villages were located along its shores and, by travel and trade, the great river connected local populations with the breadth of half the continent. It is not surprising that many of the first European explorations into the North American interior were up and down the Mississippi River., The river still bears the name given by the Ojibwe people, (also known as Chippewa) who encountered European traders and explorers here, in the upper Mississippi valley. Missi means great, or large, and (s)sippi means river, in the Algonkian dialect spoken by the Ojibwe., Chippewa Lookout is your place, to take in the eternal beauty of the Great River, and to reflect on the influence it has had on our lives and the lives of our ancestors. We hope you will cherish the memories of your visit to the Mississippi, and to Crow Wing State Park. We encourage you to share these memories with friends and family, and we hope you will return often, to see the natural changes abounding in the preserved landscape around you.,

"The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book… and it was not a book to be read once and thrown aside, for it had a new story to tell every day.", Mark Twain

, In the 1800s steam boats carried passengers and cargo up and down the length of the Mississippi River. Crow Wing was as far north as the boats traveled., The River was used to transport logs from pine forests near Crow Wing to lumber mills downstream.