Months of dry conditions in the Ohio River Valley and along the upper Mississippi basin have dropped the lower Mississippi River to levels that are approaching record lows. The narrowed channels and shallow water have affected barge traffic, making some docks inaccessible, slowing travel, and driving up the cost of freight. In some places, long-lost relics have been discovered, such as an old shipwreck on a riverbank in Louisiana, while in other places people have been able to explore features that are usually surrounded by water.
Drought Conditions Drop the Mississippi River to Historic Lows
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![People climb down a rocky hill, heading toward a rock outcrop in a river with very low water.]()
Read morePeople walk toward Tower Rock to check out the formation typically surrounded by the Mississippi River and accessible only by boat, in Perry County, Missouri, on October 19, 2022. Foot traffic to the rock formation has been made possible because of near-record-low water levels along the river. #
Jeff Roberson / AP -
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![An elevated view of an old riverboat and several smaller boats grounded in mud, stranded by low river-water levels.]()
Read moreThe Diamond Lady, a once-majestic riverboat, rests with smaller boats in mud at Riverside Park Marina in Martin Luther King Jr. Riverside Park, along the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 19, 2022. #
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![An aerial view of a barge going down a river with very low water.]()
Read moreIn this photo taken by a drone, a barge maneuvers its way down the typically wide Mississippi River where it has been reduced to a narrow trickle, near Tiptonville, Tennessee, on October 20, 2022. #
Jeff Roberson / AP -
![Service buildings on a floating dock sit at an angle on a river bank.]()
Read moreLow water leaves a marine service facility sitting at an angle along the bank of the Ohio River at the confluence of the Mississippi River on October 17, 2022, in Cairo, Illinois. #
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![A tug pushes a barge past a grounded buoy on the Mississippi River.]()
Read moreA tugboat pushes a barge past a grounded buoy on the Mississippi River on October 20, 2022, near Greenville, Mississippi. #
Scott Olson / Getty -
![A couple dozen barges sit in low river water.]()
Read moreBarges, stranded by low water, sit at the Port of Rosedale along the Mississippi River on October 20, 2022, in Rosedale, Mississippi. #
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![Dozens of trucks filled with grain sit in lines around a collection of riverside grain elevators.]()
Read moreTrucks filled with grain line up at an elevator at the Port of Greenville along the Mississippi River, on October 20, 2022, in Greenville, Mississippi. Many elevators along the river are not taking grain because they are at capacity as the low water levels prevent them from loading barges to move the grain downriver. #
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![A paddlewheeler passes by a barge in a wide river.]()
Read moreLow-water restrictions on the barge loads make for cautious navigation through the Mississippi River, as evidenced by the American Heritage paddlewheeler passing a tow moored on the Louisiana-side riverbank near Vicksburg, Mississippi, on October 11, 2022. #
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![People look out over a dry area where the normally wide Mississippi River has been reduced to a narrow trickle off in the distance]()
Read morePeople look out over an area where the typically wide Mississippi River has been reduced to a narrow trickle off in the distance, making travel along the river more difficult, near Portageville, Missouri, on October 20, 2022. #
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![Wooden beams, parts of the wreckage of an old ship, lie on a riverbank.]()
Read moreThe remains of a ship lie on the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Monday, October 17, 2022, recently being revealed because of the low water levels. The ship, which archaeologists believe to be a ferry that sunk in the late 1800s to early 1900s, was spotted by a local resident walking along the shore earlier this month. #
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Read morePeople walk to and climb on the newly exposed Tower Rock on October 19, 2022, in Perry County, Missouri. #
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![Cracked earth, seen in a broad stretch of dried-up Mississippi River bed.]()
Read morePart of a broad stretch of dried-up Mississippi riverbed, photographed on October 20, 2022, near Portageville, Missouri #
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Read moreBoats rest in mud at Mud Island Marina as the water on the Mississippi River continues to recede on October 19, 2022, in Memphis, Tennessee. #
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![Barges make their way down the Mississippi River, past wide stretches of recently-exposed riverbed.]()
Read moreBarges make their way down the Mississippi River, past wide stretches of recently exposed riverbed where the water levels have reached historic lows in Memphis, on October 23, 2022. #
Karen Pulfer Focht / Reuters
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