Photos | Earth as art
Mississippi River Delta, United States
Credit: KING
After receiving the Arkansas and Red Rivers, the Mississippi River travels to its terminus and joins the Gulf of Mexico. The river’s turbid waters spill out into the Gulf of Mexico, and its suspended sediment is deposited to form the Mississippi River Delta. As seen in this 2001 Terra image, marshes and mudflats (shades of green) prevail between shipping channels cut into the bird’s-foot delta. The marshes protect the mainland from storm surges and provide a home for fish and wildlife.
