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The Daily Bucket - Where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi [1]
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Date: 2022-12-19
Cottonwood trees at the confluence of the Ohio River (left) and Mississippi River (right).
When I travel back and forth between Georgia and Missouri, I sometimes stop at Fort Defiance State Park at the very southern tip of Illinois, near the town of Cairo. This is where two great rivers — the Ohio and the Mississippi — join together. Most of my pictures are from a recent visit, October 26, 2022.
THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS. WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF THE DAILY BUCKET FEATURE, CHECK OUT THIS DIARY: DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
A sign at the park entrance gives visitors a brief history of the location.
Here is an aerial view of the confulence.
The town of Cairo is in the upper left corner. Kentucky is in upper right, Missouri at the bottom of the image.
Motorists are treated to two river crossings via grand old bridges. Some might argue with my word choice, and would replace treated to with frightened by. The lanes are quite narrow, with scarcely enough space for two large trucks to pass.
According to Wikipedia, the span over the Ohio is a cantilever bridge, 5,863 feet long and a mere 20 feet wide. It opened in 1938.
The Mississippi crossing is also a cantilever bridge, 5,175 feet long and 20 feet wide, opened in 1929.
Approaching Ohio River from the Kentucky side.
View from Ft. Defiance Park. Note railroad bridge in the distance.
Willow tree clinging to life. Willows have short life spans compared to other trees.
Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) with cones. Cypress trees are deciduous, and this tree is in the process of shedding its needles for the season.
Sculpture is titled Proceeding On, by Evertt Beidler, installed 2005 for Lewis and Clark centennial.
A plaque next to the sculpture reads:
In November 1803, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, and their growing contingent of “Corps of Discovery” men, spent five days here teaching each other celestial navigation and surveying skills. Using a sextant, octant, artificial horizon, and reference tables, they successfully obtained the first longitude and latitude data that they would use during the Expedition. Subsequent maps of the northern and western portions of the United States, prepared using Lewis and Clark’s data, began at the confluence of these great rivers which, in 1803, was located just south of 2nd Street in present-day Cairo.
Take another look at the aerial view. 2nd Street is at the southern end of Cairo. The confluence has moved southward across the flood plain. Today, with levees and other flood control measures, the rivers seldom move as much as Mother Nature intended them to move.
The meeting of the rivers. Note the line of swirling waters where the currents of the rivers meet.
The Mississippi River. The river level is very low.
Crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri. That big rig has little margin for error on the narrow lane.
Bonus pictures. Of course Noble Fur was there on our travels.
October 2018, climbing the stairs to the observation deck.
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