File:Mississippi River and Delta (MODIS 2016-12-16).jpg

English: The Mississippi River watershed is the largest drainage basin in North America, covering about 3.2 million square kilometers (13.1 million square miles) and draining all or parts of 2 Canadian provinces and 31 U.S. states. The mighty river begins in northern Minnesota and flows southwards for about 3,739 km (2,320 mi) to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. At its terminus, the Mississippi fans out into a broad, somewhat bird’s-foot-shaped delta.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a true-color image on the lower Mississippi River and Mississippi Delta on December 10, 2016.

The meanders of the Mississippi River are tan in color, indicating the waters carry suspended sediment. Sediment pours from the Mississippi Delta into the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi Valley, which curves to the north-northeast in the image, wears autumn tan. It is a rich agricultural region, but cool winter weather means most vegetation is senescent or the cropland is fallow. A bank of low cloud (fog) lies over low-lying forested areas west of the Mississippi.