Mississippi River Headwaters Lake Itasca MN

 The mighty Mississippi River begins its winding journey to the Gulf of Mexico as a mere 18-foot wide knee-deep river in Itasca State Park. From here the river flows north to Bemidji, where it turns east, and then south near Grand Rapids. It will flow a total of 694 miles before working its way out of Minnesota.

The river's channel appears much as it did when Henry Rowe Schoolcraft discovered the source in 1832. Water ripples across a sandy gravel bottom through a channel lined with cattails, tamarack trees, and sedge. 

The large boulders were added to the mouth of the Mississippi for an anniversary celebration of the discovery of the headwaters.