Mississippi River

The Mississippi River was obviously a main factor in the commerce of the area - enabling the cotton and other products to be shipped. It was also the reason why the area is so fertile - the regular flooding continually replenishing the nutrients in the soil. But once the region became inhabited and organised agriculture started these floods became dangerous and destructive so embankments, levees, were build throughout pretty much the whole delta area. This means that you can drive for miles within a stone's throw of the river without actually being able to see it. You wouldn't know it was there. The river has become effectively invisible.

We did stop a couple of times and accessed the top of the levee to have a look. There was virtually no traffic on the river - not even any leisure craft, which was surprising.

Because the regular flooding in the past caused the river to change course, there are many oxbow lakes. And although the centre of the river was originally the state line between Mississipi and Arkansas, the changes in course mean that now there are horseshoe-shaped bits of Arkansas on the east side and similar bits of Mississippi on the west side.

The floods are the subject of many blues songs  -  When the levee breaks, Back Water Blues, Terrible Flood Blues, Mississippi Heavy Water Blues, Southern Flood Blues etc.

There was a particularly bad flood in 1927 - Charley Patton's High Water Everywhere Blues. This event led to a massive operation to raise the level of the levees.

Pretty much everywhere we went there was very little made of the river frontage. In most countries now you can find restaurants, cafés etc. on any waterfront - not here. Maybe because of the potential flooding and maybe it's not allowed on the levees.