Mississippi Headwaters
The Mississippi headwaters are indeed remarkable. The infant portion of the Mississippi River lies on the western edge of the Itasca moraine, a large landform created by glaciers 10,000 years ago. A moraine is a glacier’s endpoint, created when rocks and sand were deposited by the glacier. Visitors to the headwaters will see the power of the glaciers, where hills composed of glacial material meet plains flattened by the outwash from melting ice.
It is now widely accepted that on July 13, 1832, Henry Schoolcraft discovered and established Lake Itasca to be the true source of the Mississippi River and that the continuous flow from Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico defines the mighty Mississippi. This earth cache highlights the heart of the headwaters by recognizing the convergence of the Mississippi River with its first sizable tributary, the Schoolcraft River. At the earth-cache coordinates, the Mississippi roughly doubles in size, a fact that likely puzzled early explorers as they travelled upstream trying to determine which branch should be considered the main channel of the Mississippi.
While it seems like the determination of the true source of America’s most powerful river should have been accomplished by straightforward geography, hydrology, and logic; these were not the only factors in play. Although these disciplines were part of the equation, the final solution also involved politics and popularity. The list of explorers who claimed to have discovered the true source of the Mississippi includes:
David Thompson, in 1798, Turtle Lake in Beltrami County
Zebulon Pike, in 1805, Leech Lake in Cass County
Lewis Cass, in 1820, Cass Lake in Beltrami and Cass Counties
Giacomo Beltrami, in 1823, Lake Julia in Beltrami County
Henry Schoolcraft with his Ojibway guide, Ozawindib (Yellow Head), in 1832, Lake Itasca in Clearwater County
Joseph Nicollet, in 1836, Nicollet Creek in Clearwater County
Julius Chambers, in 1872, Elk Lake in Clearwater County
Willard Glazier, in 1887, Elk Lake, which he renamed Lake Glazier
Finally in 1889, Jacob Brower made careful survey of the Itasca region, and overturned Glazier's pronouncement that Elk (Glazier) Lake was the river's source and returned Itasca to that position. While Brower recognized that Hernando De Soto Lake, located within the boundaries of Itasca State Park, is the final hydrological source of the water that becomes the great Mississippi River, he reasoned that Lake Itasca must be considered “The Source” of the Mississippi. Brower consulted experts as to how they would ascertain the source of a river, and ultimately Brower decided to define the source as the lake from which the outlet flow was large enough that it would not dry up. Streams connecting Itasca with upstream lakes do dry up at times, but these streams as well as Itasca's springs keep water flowing out of Lake Itasca year-round. This observation led Brower to confirm Schoolcraft’s 1832 determination to be correct.
The importance of these and other early explorers to the headwaters region is recorded in the names of numerous geographical features in the area: Schoolcraft River, Schoolcraft Lake, Schoolcraft Island in Lake Itasca, Ozawindib Lake, Yellowhead Road, Brower Island in Hernando De Soto Lake, Nicollet Lake, Nicollet Creek, Cass Lake, Pike Bay and Allens Bay in Cass Lake, Beltrami Lake, and Beltrami County, to name a few.
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To log this Earth Cache please accomplish the following. Be sure to complete the required tasks listed below the two observation options.
"EITHER"
By Water
1. Visit the earth cache coordinates, which mark the merger of the Schoolcraft River and the Mississippi River, by watercraft;
2. take a picture there that includes you, your GPS, and the earth cache area;
3. and post the picture with your online log .
Please consider water depth when choosing the type of watercraft to use.
The water depth varies throughout the season.
Do not attempt to access the specific Mississippi/Schoolcraft merge location by land.
Only the waterway is considered public.
"OR"
By Land
1. Observe the area surrounding the river merger by visiting three bridges (coordinates listed below), one that crosses the Mississippi upstream of the merger, one that crosses the Schoolcraft upstream of the merger, and one that crosses the Mississippi directly downstream of the merger;
2. take pictures that include you and your GPS at each of the bridges;
3. and post these three pictures with your online log.
• Mississippi bridge upstream of the merger, County Hwy 11: N 47° 27.066’, W 94° 54.401’
• Schoolcraft bridge upstream of the merger, Co. Hwy 11, Carr Lake Road: N 47° 26.185’, W 94° 53.644’
• Mississippi bridge downstream of the merger, Yellowhead Road SW: N 47° 26.769’, W 94° 53.290’
~Coordinates also included as reference points below.~
Please do not attempt to stop on the Hwy 2 bridge, visit the Yellowhead bridge for the downstream observations.
"REQUIRED TASKS" -For Both Options: Email your answers to me through my profile page.
1. By using one of the methods above to observe the area, estimate which of the rivers, the Mississippi or the Schoolcraft, delivers the most water to the merger of the two rivers. Please provide your answer.
2. Based solely on this evidence, which river do you believe should be considered the main channel of the Mississippi?
3. Observe the water clarity of the two rivers, the Mississippi and the Schoolcraft, above the merger. Which of the two rivers is clearer (carries less dissolved solids)?
4. Based on the characteristics of the two rivers above the merger, what is your conclusion as to why this river is clearer than the other?
Logs not supported by this email will be deleted.
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Public water access is available at:
N 47° 27.939 W 094° 52.775 -Down Stream on the north side of Lake Irving
N 47° 25.705 W 094° 53.761 -Upstream on the east side of Lake Marquette, site of the "Schoolcraft Camped Near Here" cache (GC16Y81) ***carry in only***
Check the Water Trail Guide link below for other public access sites
Map
Sources & Links of Interest:
Schoolcraft Sesquicentennial
John L's Old Maps
Mississippi Headwaters History
Mississippi Water Trail Guide
A Waymarking Excursion that could be enjoyed at the same time as this Earth Cache
Those interested in visiting the established source of the Mississippi River might be interested in the virtual cache: Even The Mighty Start Small (GCB286) and the Earth Cache: Old Man River (GC1D5M1)
