Mississippi River Field Trip
- "One who knows the Mississippi River, will of her not allow but to
himself, that 10,000 river commissions with the minds of the world at their
back cannot curve it or confine it, cannot say to it go here or go there and
make it obey, cannot save a shore which it has sentenced, cannot bar its path
with an obstruction which it will not tear down, dance over or laugh at."
- -Mark Twain
This document describes a field trip taken by GE 404
(Natural Hazard Mitagation) students to investigate the effects of the 1993
Mississippi River flood on communities along the river. One of the primary
interests of the class, was to investigate the attitudes of the flood victims
and government agencies regarding the use of dikes and levees to control flood
damage. Tours and interviews were given by local and federal governmental
officials, as well as local residents, in communities which rely on levees and
those which do not.
The information on this page can be selected by either clicking on the name of
a city or region on the map, or by following the outline of the itinerary.
Publications and Background Information
Flood Discharges in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, 1993: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1120-A
Precipitation in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, January 1
Through July 31, 1993: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1120-B
Using Hydrologic Data to Forecast
Floods: U.S. Geological Circular 1992
Mississippi River Water Surface Profiles: July 1993.
Additional Maps
Student Study on the Great Flood of 1993 What happened and what did they learn?
Day 1
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island,
Illinois
Davenport, Iowa
Street map of Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa
Day 2
Niota, Illinois
Alexandria, Missouri
Meyer, Illinois
Day 3
Sny Island Levee Drainage District, Illinois
Fabius River Drainage District, Missouri
Acknowledgements
- We would especially like to thank Nancy Hanks of Western Illinois
University for helping with the trip organization and putting us in touch with
pertinent people in the Mississippi flood plain.
- Thanks also goes out to Gary Loss (Engineer, USACE Rock Island, IL), Kathy
Wine (River Action, Inc. Davenport, IA), Kenneth Upton (Niota, IL), and Dean
Paben (Sny Levee District) for taking time to talk about and show us around
the flooded area.
- Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Vulcani and the Kibbe Wildlife Station (Warsaw, IL) for providing places to stay during our trip.
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