Major Cities Along the Mississippi River: Source to Gulf

The Mississippi River (3,766 km / 2,340 mi) threads through America's heartland. Major cities from source (Lake Itasca, MN) to mouth (Gulf of Mexico):

Upper Mississippi

• Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN (twin cities, head of navigation)
• Winona, MN
• La Crosse, WI
• Dubuque, IA
• Davenport / Bettendorf, IA & Rock Island / Moline, IL (Quad Cities)
• Burlington, IA
• Quincy, IL
• Hannibal, MO (Mark Twain)

Middle Mississippi

• St. Louis, MO (Gateway Arch, Missouri River confluence)
• Cape Girardeau, MO

Lower Mississippi

• Memphis, TN (bluff city, music, freight)
• Helena, AR
• Greenville, MS
• Vicksburg, MS (Civil War siege, river commission HQ)
• Natchez, MS (antebellum architecture)
• Baton Rouge, LA (state capital, petrochemical)
• New Orleans, LA (port, culture, below sea level)

Distributary Zone

• Gulfport, MS (on Gulf, not main stem)
• St. Martinville, LA (Bayou Teche)

These cities exist because of the river—transport, water, power, fertile soil. The river made them; they now manage it.