No other North American river has a drainage basin as large as that of the Mississippi. The amount of nutrients it discharges into the Gulf of Mexico is correspondingly large. Because freshwater from the river is lighter than the salty seawater, it settles as a distinct layer above the seawater. When rivers ordinarily meet a sea, they don’t instantly mix , this phenomenon is called stratification #education #mississippiriver #gulfofmexico #stratification #earthscience #STEM #STEAM