Day Seven

National Great Rivers Museum 2

国立大河川博物館2

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Before showing the exhibitions of the museum through, I want to tell about how geologically unique the location of this museum is. That's why it stands here in the first place.

When you think back of the American history, you may easily find that the roles of big rivers that flow inland of America were so enormous. The Mississippi is the top of the tops. But there were so many others that played important roles in the development of the American economy, especially that in the nineteenth century. The Missouri and the Illinois are two of them. And amazingly, you see these two rivers flow into the Mississippi just here, in the Alton, Illinois, area! Look at the aerial view that the panel photos show below.

These two photos are exhibited here to show how powerful the Mississippi floods sometimes are. But the point now is not that. The reason I show you the photos is I really want you to see the way the three big rivers meet in a very narrow area of Alton and its vicinities. Roughly speaking, the Mississippi flows down from the north to the south on the upper part of the photos. Then, it suddenly turns and goes horizontally to the east on the middle part of the photos. The Alton area is located along this horizontal part of the river. The Mississippi then turns again down to the south. The National Great Rivers Museum is located at the point a little before this second turn starts.

Now, let's focus on where the other two rivers meet with it. First, the Illinois River goes downwards just a little bit east of the Mississippi, paralelling it, in the upper part of the photos. Then it hits the Mississippi in its downward motion. This confluence point is very close to the river town called Grafton, which is in the west of Alton. Second, move your eyes to the right onto the second turning point of the Mississippi. Just a little bit below this turning point you will find the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi from the west. This is literally the very last step of its long, long journey to the east, starting in the Rocky Mountains in Montana!

The Illinois River is itself a big river. And here comes to the Missouri, which is the longest river in the U.S. And we have the Mississippi in the first place, the most important river in Nortth America which has been the biggest helping hand for the development of the U.S.A. I sense Miracle here in that all the three rivers meet at this very small area of Alton, Illinois.

Now, with that miracle in mind, let's see the two confluence points a little more closely.

This aerial photo shows the first confluence point where the Mississippi River meets with the Illinois. This confluence point is located on Grafton, a small scenic river town of Illinois.

Interesitingly enough, the Mississippi, which has run down just straight to the south, starts to go up after making a small downward curve, just before it meets with the Illlinois. Then, when it meets the Illinois, it changes its course horizontally to the east, as if it were forced to do so by the powerful waters of the Illinois that push it hard toward the east. As a result of this confluence, the amount of waters that flow off Grafton is enormous.

When you go upstream on the Illinois, you will eventually reach the Great Lakes by taking a few other connecting waterways. What this means is, the river has long been playing important roles in the development of the US economy. Even now, tons of natural and industrial products are transported through this river.

The next photo shows the exact point of confluence of the two rivers.

What impression do you have of this view? It's like seeing a big lake, right? Yes, it's really like a huge lake because this point of the river (or rivers?) is like flooding with tons of waters that are constantly supplied from the two big rivers. I took this photo on the beach right next to the port of Grafton. This beach is really the center of the town's attractions, where there are a yacht harbor, a ferry pier, good restaurants, and some souvenir shops.

What you see in the photo is officially the Mississippi River just after it's passed the confluence point, and it now flows down from right to left. The sightseeing boat you see on the upper left corner of the photo is sailing upstream with joyful tourists. When you shift your eyes a little bit to the right, you will see a small gap on the river. That gap shows the outlet that the Mississippi is now going down to for its further southbound journey. Single-click the photo for its enlargememnt.

Let's move to the second confluence point now. As the photo above shows, that point is found just after the Mississippi turns southward again. Did you find it? Move your eyes downward just a little bit off the southbound turning point of the Mississsippi River. Then, you will see the Mouth of the Missouri River at the left side of the downward Mississippi. That is the very end of the Missouri River that has made a very long eastbound journey starting in the Rocky Mountains in the State of Montana!

Let's magnify the photo by single-clicking it. Then, you will find a white dot with the name of Confluence Tower just at the opposite side of the mouth of the Missouri, across the confluence point. That's a good observation point for the way the Mississippi and the Missouri meet there. I am going to show you our visit to the towner soon.

Further, when you look down a little bit, you will see another white dot with the name of Lewis And Clark Visitor Center. That is exactly where William Clark and Meriwheather Lewis set up a camp in 1804. They spent some days preparing for the expedition to the Pacific Ocean. They went upstream on the Missouri River with a group of soldiers and one dog named Seaman. After tons of serious trouble, they finally reached the Pacific Ocean and built a camp called Fort Clatsop. The fort is now restored as the visitors center with a memorial park.We couldn't visit it in this trip. But, several years later when I visited Alton again, I went to the center and took a lot of valuable photos. So, be patient to wait until I upload them. It may take a year or so. Sorry.

Day Seven continues to the next page.

七日目は次のページに続きます。