Map Enthusiasts

There's a reason why indigenous people called it Mississippi, a word that came from Ojibwe and Algonquin languages, which are related.

I speak my language of Ojibwe Cree in northern Ontario and it's very clear for me to understand the word.

Mishi ... is a word we use to describe something as big in size

Sipi ... is the word for River, a major River, as opposed to a small creek or channel.

In my language and dialect, Mississippi literally translates to just 'Big River'

And by the look of this map .... it is definitely a 'Big River'

Citation

Hey Michigan, we got this great big river basin, you wanna get in on this?

Michigan: NO

It's absolutely insane we don't do a shit load more shipping in this amazing river system. Thanks, Jones Act.

The tldr is that to go directly between two ports in the United States, a ship must be American built and flying American colors. The law is the result of the shipping industry's lobbying efforts 100 years ago. Until that point, American shipping had been considered the best for several decades, and they'd rather have Uncle Sam protect them instead of doing anything to be more attractive. This is why if you get on a cruise ship, you always visit a foreign port. You can't sail directly between Houston and New York. It also means that cargo sent within the United States can't go by water. All cargo moving domestically moves by road, rail, or air.

This map is a good reminder of how insignificant international borders can be.

Interesting how it outlines texas pretty well(outside of the little square bit)

i guess rockies to the west and appalachia to the east means there is only one way for water shed to flow in middle north america

What this says to me is that most of the US is uphill from New Orleans.

Isn't this the river that basically bankrupted France and started the revolution? Because they thought it would be as good an investment as the Hudson River, but the area was way too swampy and so the bubble eventually burst.