The Mississippi River today is a classic meandering river. 20,000 years ago the Mississippi River was a major outwash channel for the Laurentide ice sheet. What does this suggest about the ancient Mississippi?
◦ It was probably a lush heavily vegetated valley due to the nutrients brought down by the glacial meltwater, producing a swampy landscape with numerous channels.
◦ It probably looked similar to the river today, but was characterized by more dramatic summer floods that occurred every year.
◦ It probably resembled modern rivers in Alaska with a broad braided stream valley that dried up during the winter months, producing winter dust storms.
◦ It is impossible to predict what the river might have looked like.