Mississippi River

The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning 'great river' (gichi-ziibi 'big river' at its headwaters), is the second-longest named river in North America, with a length of 2320 miles (3733 km) from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico.

The longest of the many long Mississippi tributaries is the Missouri River with the Arkansas River as second longest. Measured by water volume, the largest of all Mississippi tributaries is the Ohio River.