The longest river in the U.S., the Mississippi traverses ten states — Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Parts of the river are calm and easy to navigate, but at any moment, you could be surprised by a strong undercurrent, which often proves deadly to swimmers.
There are also dangerous creatures that dwell within it, including pike fish, alligators and sometimes bull sharks.
As if this weren’t enough, vessels and swimmers have to be careful with the debris that can be found in the river, such as cars, boats and other forms of toxic trash.
