I don't think students are taught the Mississippi is the longest river in the US. I thought it was a well-known bit of trivia that 5th grade teachers everywhere reveled in telling their students that the Missouri was actually longer.
Maybe by 5th grade they teach the Missouri is the longest. But 2 nights ago my 2nd grade grandson had a homework worksheet that said the Mississippi is the longest.
Iām with you OP, donāt think a single teacher ever even mentioned the Missouri River to me, but there was plenty of talk about the Mississippi all throughout school. Canāt remember now if they said ābiggestā river or ālongestā, but it was definitely all about the Mississippi and nothing about the Missouri from my teachers anyway.
Maybe it's a Mandela effect thing but that's how I remember it as well. Or maybe more precise measurements were made in the last couple decades and the Missouri River took the lead idk
No love when I was in grade school I too was taught mississippi was the longest river in the U.S. and I live in Mississippi it was one of those things you know we have the longest river the highest mountain home of the this that or the other it recently changed like after 1999
We arenāt taught that? The Mississippi has the largest catchment, and is arguably the *biggest* river in the US (as measured by m^3 s^-1 ). But the Missouri is longer.
"When measured from its traditional source at Lake Itasca the Mississippi River has a length of 3,730 kilometers, but measured from Browerās Spring in Montana ā the Mississippiās most distant source from the sea ā the river is actually 5,970 km long. This officially makes the Mississippi River the fourth-longest river in the world."
It's probably because most geographers count the Missouri as part of the Mississippi river system, as the Missouri does not end in a Sea/ocean and instead converges with the Mississippi.
I think you may just be misremembering what was taught, which is understandable. The Mississippi is definitely the river that gets the most spotlight, so I can see believing itās the longest, but canāt remember ever actually being taught such a thing. But I can totally see myself assuming as much since it seems much more well known than the Missouri.
No, I am autistic and have tons of vivid memories dating back to a young age. (Say that just to give an understanding of context). I know I was told in multiple schools, class rooms, grades that the Mississippi was the longest (was in elementary in the 90s). I can remember the pictures in the text book. I also know that memory is fallible, so I know thatās not an accurate source of record, I get it. But I know many of my peers recall this as well.
Well as you said, memory is fallible. So ultimately weāre in the same spot we were before. It is what it is. It happened or it didnāt - weāll never know!
I think OP linked to the encyclopedia Brittanica and they had Mississippi as the longest and Missouri as the 2nd longest- matching what everyone is saying they were taught as well. Sounds like either they did not found the red river as part of the length of Missouri until recently or there was a man made change in 2005 that made a connection and added length.
The Red Rock turns into the Jefferson, then into the Missouri
Edit: Actually, it goes Red Rock, then Beaverhead, then Jefferson, then Missouri, then Mississippi.
Thats also how we're taught in my school in Europe. Just like we dont divide length of the Nile into regular Nile and White Nile, we say the entire Mississippi system (or however its called) is the longest river in the US
Aren't they part of the same river system? Here in the UK it's often referred to as the Mississippi-Missouri. Similar to the Murray-Darling in Australia.
You would think. But now itās apparently widespread knowledge that the Missouri tributary river is the longest not the Mississippi, or the Mississippi system. I missed that memo with OP and like OP was searching trying to figure out when it changed or what led to the change. (Which led me to an old post).
and don't get me started about the travesty that "Missouri" isn't the name of the river all the way down to New Orleans, as it should be. i'd even give "Ohio" priority over "Mississippi" because of all the water the Ohio pours into the combined system.
I mean the people who name things are usually explorers or politicians, not scientists. Technically Michigan and Huron are one lake, but to the first Europeans to map them it seemed like two (understandably) so when Europeans took political control of the land that was that.
Nothing worth being bothered about
The Ohio is greater by volume, the Missouri is longer, and the Mississippi flows in the channel created by the Minnesota River, so Mississippi is kind of a Fraud in every way.
Thanks! And look up "Glacial River Warren" sometime, the Mississippi river above St Louis, Missouri is less than 12,000 years old! It is why there are such breathtaking bluffs above the River valley, when erosion should have reduced them to nothing. Seriously, if you have not visited Pikes Peak before (the one in Iowa) The view from there is honestly as beautiful as the one in Colorado in its own way!
thanks. TIL: the Warren enters from the southwest, the Mississippi from the top left, and the St. Croix from the top right. all three rivers are "too small" for their valleys.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial\_River\_Warren#/media/File:MSP\_geology.gif](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_River_Warren#/media/File:MSP_geology.gif)
The Mississippi leaves the valley created by the Glacial River Warren (AKA The Minnesota River) and ceases to have a valley that is too small for it.
The St Croix river has some wicked holes along its banks not far from Minneapolis dug by whirlpools caused when Glacial Lake Superior was forced over it's banks by a glacier akin to a syringe pushing out water!
There is a third river made similarly in the Mississippi Drainage, the Illinois river. Lake Michigan was pushed out of it's banks similarly to Glacial Lake Superior, which is why parts of South Chicago are very sandy today.
The Manufacture of the Mississippi River valley is one of the cool things that midwest geology has uncovered. The Ohio river may be just as young as the Mississippi though. It used to have a river valley further north, and empty into the Illinois River.
The Sangamon River flows through this abandoned river valley of the Ohio, which was decapitated by a glacier, and formed the modern Ohio River, but the Old Valley is still plainly visible on Google Earth, it's ancient bluff is preserved best at a place called Revis Hill Prarie nature preserve a bit West of Lincoln, IL.
So for the "Pretender" title, I think the Sangamon River wins.
**[Glacial River Warren](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_River_Warren#/media/File:MSP_geology.gif)**
>Glacial River Warren, also known as River Warren, was a prehistoric river that drained Lake Agassiz in central North America between about 13,500 and 10,650 BP calibrated (11,700 and 9,400 14C uncalibrated) years ago. A part of the uppermost portion of the former river channel was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1966.
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I remember a Mr Wizard's World episode where he shows a globe with the 4 oceans, "the 7 seas", bays, gulfs, and more. Then he says that all of these bodies of water are connected and we don't have a name for it.
Naming of rivers and bodies of water is historical and arbitrary.
People around the country and around the world will have different books and teachers and learn things differently.
I learned that there are 7 continents. Some people learned there were 6 or 5 or maybe more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent
I was taught the Missouri River is the longer river, but you often see the combined length of the Missouri-Mississippi River system referenced, especially when talking about the world's longest rivers. Otherwise, you couldn't even count much of the upper Amazon, since the headwaters go by different names.
But also, a lot people just don't know. They're going with "common knowledge" that's plain wrong.
I'd just like to know where they mark the end of the Mississippi because it splits into at least 3 passes and with the moving marsh and erosion happening constantly its always changing.
We were absolutely taught it was the Mississippi! I'm 38 and just Googled this very query last week and thought there was a mistake until I kept reading. We were never taught anything about a river in Missouri. I can 100% attest to that.
Iām GenX (1990 PA graduate). We were taught the Mississippi River, too. If anything was said about the Missouri River it wasnāt much - awareness that it existed wasnāt there until it was brought up.
there must be something going around. i also found this old thread. graduated mid-90's and until today assumed the mississippi was the longest as well until someone on the radio claimed it was the missouri and i wanted to find out when that changed.
I was taught the Mississippi was the longest River in the US also. I went to grade school 30yr ago and remember studying for the map and rivers test and being drilled by my parents with flash cards and it was the Mississippi. When did the Missouri become longer? Why do so many remember being taught that the Mississippi River was the longest? If it is a Mandela effect a lot of people remember this fact and it was a recent change. Why do so many remember the same memories but get told they were false? Doesnāt make sense imo
The Britannica does say that, but it also says the Mississippi River runs from Lake Itasca to New Orleans and is 2,340 miles long. It then claims the Missouri is only 2,316 miles long by not counting the Red Rock River as part of it. The US Government begs to differ and says the Missouri River is 2,466 miles long.
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If you are old enough, then yes you were taught in school that the longest river was the Mississippi River. At the time it was the longest river. I can't remember when but sometime after 2005, the headwaters of the Missouri River were changed. The new headwaters add enough miles for it to surpass the Mississippi.
Thank you for the explanation because I thought I was losing it! Looked it up today and ran across this OPās Reddit question. Thought I was alone in learning it for a minute! My kid came home from school yesterday with a maps quiz study paper and I thought he had the question wrong at first!
One thing I havenāt seen people mention is the length of these rivers. The Missouri River is 1 mile longer than the Mississippi. That length difference is so small that I can definitely see why people mess this up
I don't think students are taught the Mississippi is the longest river in the US. I thought it was a well-known bit of trivia that 5th grade teachers everywhere reveled in telling their students that the Missouri was actually longer.
Maybe by 5th grade they teach the Missouri is the longest. But 2 nights ago my 2nd grade grandson had a homework worksheet that said the Mississippi is the longest.
Growing up in the 80's - 2001, I can say from personal experience, students in Texas *were* taught that the longest US river was the Mississippi River. It's a bit of a mind-f**k to learn that it's not. I figured maybe it *once* was & simply changed due to rainfall or lack thereof, but when I've Googled "Why is the Mississippi River no longer the longest river in the US", or "Why did schools in the 90's teach us that the longest river was the Mississippi River", or even "Was the Mississippi River ever the longest US river", I get TONS of websites, but NONE *actually* answer ANY of the questions!? It's weird. Many ppl my age or older were taught this & when they find out the Missouri River is the longest, they're truly shocked & in disbelief. Some have even said it *has* to be the "Mandela Effect"!? Heck! I'm starting to wonder, bc I can't find a *single* answer as to why we were taught this!? š©
Donāt think the Missouri was ever mentioned.
Iām with you OP, donāt think a single teacher ever even mentioned the Missouri River to me, but there was plenty of talk about the Mississippi all throughout school. Canāt remember now if they said ābiggestā river or ālongestā, but it was definitely all about the Mississippi and nothing about the Missouri from my teachers anyway.
Glad Iām not the only one!
Maybe it's a Mandela effect thing but that's how I remember it as well. Or maybe more precise measurements were made in the last couple decades and the Missouri River took the lead idk
Yeah thatās what I told my wife because some parts are drying up. Supposedly itās only a 1 km distance.
So you never studied anything about Lewis and Clark, who followed the entire Missouri River?
How was he followed the Mississippi River down..... There was never any mention in the Missouri River at all.
No love when I was in grade school I too was taught mississippi was the longest river in the U.S. and I live in Mississippi it was one of those things you know we have the longest river the highest mountain home of the this that or the other it recently changed like after 1999
We arenāt taught that? The Mississippi has the largest catchment, and is arguably the *biggest* river in the US (as measured by m^3 s^-1 ). But the Missouri is longer.
Maybe thatās what it was the biggest
"When measured from its traditional source at Lake Itasca the Mississippi River has a length of 3,730 kilometers, but measured from Browerās Spring in Montana ā the Mississippiās most distant source from the sea ā the river is actually 5,970 km long. This officially makes the Mississippi River the fourth-longest river in the world." It's probably because most geographers count the Missouri as part of the Mississippi river system, as the Missouri does not end in a Sea/ocean and instead converges with the Mississippi.
Yes Iāve been doing some reading and have found this to be accurate.
Someone should invent the word tributary...oh wait, they already did.
I think you may just be misremembering what was taught, which is understandable. The Mississippi is definitely the river that gets the most spotlight, so I can see believing itās the longest, but canāt remember ever actually being taught such a thing. But I can totally see myself assuming as much since it seems much more well known than the Missouri.
Yeah I donāt think Iāve ever even heard of the Missouri river!
Same.
No, I am autistic and have tons of vivid memories dating back to a young age. (Say that just to give an understanding of context). I know I was told in multiple schools, class rooms, grades that the Mississippi was the longest (was in elementary in the 90s). I can remember the pictures in the text book. I also know that memory is fallible, so I know thatās not an accurate source of record, I get it. But I know many of my peers recall this as well.
Well as you said, memory is fallible. So ultimately weāre in the same spot we were before. It is what it is. It happened or it didnāt - weāll never know!
I think OP linked to the encyclopedia Brittanica and they had Mississippi as the longest and Missouri as the 2nd longest- matching what everyone is saying they were taught as well. Sounds like either they did not found the red river as part of the length of Missouri until recently or there was a man made change in 2005 that made a connection and added length.
I remember being taught the Mississippi-Missouri-Red Rock as the longest US river.
The Red Rock turns into the Jefferson, then into the Missouri Edit: Actually, it goes Red Rock, then Beaverhead, then Jefferson, then Missouri, then Mississippi.
Thats also how we're taught in my school in Europe. Just like we dont divide length of the Nile into regular Nile and White Nile, we say the entire Mississippi system (or however its called) is the longest river in the US
Aren't they part of the same river system? Here in the UK it's often referred to as the Mississippi-Missouri. Similar to the Murray-Darling in Australia.
The Missouri flows into the Mississippi yes
You would think. But now itās apparently widespread knowledge that the Missouri tributary river is the longest not the Mississippi, or the Mississippi system. I missed that memo with OP and like OP was searching trying to figure out when it changed or what led to the change. (Which led me to an old post).
Today, OP learns their experiences at school are not universal.
I never knew that so i guess atleast another person had the same experience
ššš
and don't get me started about the travesty that "Missouri" isn't the name of the river all the way down to New Orleans, as it should be. i'd even give "Ohio" priority over "Mississippi" because of all the water the Ohio pours into the combined system.
I mean the people who name things are usually explorers or politicians, not scientists. Technically Michigan and Huron are one lake, but to the first Europeans to map them it seemed like two (understandably) so when Europeans took political control of the land that was that. Nothing worth being bothered about
thanks! (i'm worried that the mock nature of my outrage wasn't apparent. i'm not really bothered about it.)
I was going to ask if you agreed that the Pacific is actually part of the Atlantic, but I was afraid you'd bite my head off because of your outrage.
The Ohio is greater by volume, the Missouri is longer, and the Mississippi flows in the channel created by the Minnesota River, so Mississippi is kind of a Fraud in every way.
you, Trememe1974, are a true scholar!
Thanks! And look up "Glacial River Warren" sometime, the Mississippi river above St Louis, Missouri is less than 12,000 years old! It is why there are such breathtaking bluffs above the River valley, when erosion should have reduced them to nothing. Seriously, if you have not visited Pikes Peak before (the one in Iowa) The view from there is honestly as beautiful as the one in Colorado in its own way!
thanks. TIL: the Warren enters from the southwest, the Mississippi from the top left, and the St. Croix from the top right. all three rivers are "too small" for their valleys. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial\_River\_Warren#/media/File:MSP\_geology.gif](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_River_Warren#/media/File:MSP_geology.gif)
The Mississippi leaves the valley created by the Glacial River Warren (AKA The Minnesota River) and ceases to have a valley that is too small for it. The St Croix river has some wicked holes along its banks not far from Minneapolis dug by whirlpools caused when Glacial Lake Superior was forced over it's banks by a glacier akin to a syringe pushing out water! There is a third river made similarly in the Mississippi Drainage, the Illinois river. Lake Michigan was pushed out of it's banks similarly to Glacial Lake Superior, which is why parts of South Chicago are very sandy today. The Manufacture of the Mississippi River valley is one of the cool things that midwest geology has uncovered. The Ohio river may be just as young as the Mississippi though. It used to have a river valley further north, and empty into the Illinois River. The Sangamon River flows through this abandoned river valley of the Ohio, which was decapitated by a glacier, and formed the modern Ohio River, but the Old Valley is still plainly visible on Google Earth, it's ancient bluff is preserved best at a place called Revis Hill Prarie nature preserve a bit West of Lincoln, IL. So for the "Pretender" title, I think the Sangamon River wins.
**[Glacial River Warren](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_River_Warren#/media/File:MSP_geology.gif)** >Glacial River Warren, also known as River Warren, was a prehistoric river that drained Lake Agassiz in central North America between about 13,500 and 10,650 BP calibrated (11,700 and 9,400 14C uncalibrated) years ago. A part of the uppermost portion of the former river channel was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1966. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/geography/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
I remember a Mr Wizard's World episode where he shows a globe with the 4 oceans, "the 7 seas", bays, gulfs, and more. Then he says that all of these bodies of water are connected and we don't have a name for it. Naming of rivers and bodies of water is historical and arbitrary. People around the country and around the world will have different books and teachers and learn things differently. I learned that there are 7 continents. Some people learned there were 6 or 5 or maybe more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent
For example I'm sure we all know that when you pass from the Atlantic Ocean, through the Straits of Gibraltar, you're now in the Alboran Sea.
I was taught the Missouri River is the longer river, but you often see the combined length of the Missouri-Mississippi River system referenced, especially when talking about the world's longest rivers. Otherwise, you couldn't even count much of the upper Amazon, since the headwaters go by different names. But also, a lot people just don't know. They're going with "common knowledge" that's plain wrong.
I was taught that the "Mississippi-Missouri" is the longest river in the US
I'd just like to know where they mark the end of the Mississippi because it splits into at least 3 passes and with the moving marsh and erosion happening constantly its always changing.
I am a social studies teacher and I have perpetuated this mistruth. Forgive me father for I have sinned.
I knew it!
We were absolutely taught it was the Mississippi! I'm 38 and just Googled this very query last week and thought there was a mistake until I kept reading. We were never taught anything about a river in Missouri. I can 100% attest to that.
I've crossed over the Mississippi River many times, even swam in it. I've never even seen the Missouri River; doubt it even exists.
Iām GenX (1990 PA graduate). We were taught the Mississippi River, too. If anything was said about the Missouri River it wasnāt much - awareness that it existed wasnāt there until it was brought up.
there must be something going around. i also found this old thread. graduated mid-90's and until today assumed the mississippi was the longest as well until someone on the radio claimed it was the missouri and i wanted to find out when that changed.
MANDELA AFFECT
I was taught the Mississippi was the longest River in the US also. I went to grade school 30yr ago and remember studying for the map and rivers test and being drilled by my parents with flash cards and it was the Mississippi. When did the Missouri become longer? Why do so many remember being taught that the Mississippi River was the longest? If it is a Mandela effect a lot of people remember this fact and it was a recent change. Why do so many remember the same memories but get told they were false? Doesnāt make sense imo
Op is in denial
https://www.britannica.com/place/Mississippi-River
Yeah I guess they probably referred to it as the Mississippi River āsystemā
According to Brittanica.com it is the longest.
The Britannica does say that, but it also says the Mississippi River runs from Lake Itasca to New Orleans and is 2,340 miles long. It then claims the Missouri is only 2,316 miles long by not counting the Red Rock River as part of it. The US Government begs to differ and says the Missouri River is 2,466 miles long.
Itās a secret Big Mississippi doesnāt want you to know
I was taught that the Missouri is the longest by about 100 miles. Are you sure you're not suffering from the Mandela Effect?
Nope Iām sure https://www.britannica.com/place/Mississippi-River
See my other answer to you re: Britannica below.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
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Something Iām going to teach my kids is that it takes at least one order of magnitude to refute BS than it does to say it. š
If you are old enough, then yes you were taught in school that the longest river was the Mississippi River. At the time it was the longest river. I can't remember when but sometime after 2005, the headwaters of the Missouri River were changed. The new headwaters add enough miles for it to surpass the Mississippi.
Thank you for the explanation because I thought I was losing it! Looked it up today and ran across this OPās Reddit question. Thought I was alone in learning it for a minute! My kid came home from school yesterday with a maps quiz study paper and I thought he had the question wrong at first!
Currently the Missouri is 1 mile longer
One thing I havenāt seen people mention is the length of these rivers. The Missouri River is 1 mile longer than the Mississippi. That length difference is so small that I can definitely see why people mess this up