Mississippi River Running High in St Paul

At the end of June, the Mississippi River here in St Paul, Minnesota was running high after we had a lot of rain. Although this was thankfully not a record-breaking water level, we did see the 8th highest crest on record at 20.17 feet on June 29.

Source: https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/emergency-management/flood-information

Because my husband and I live right next to the river, we went out that afternoon (conveniently, a Saturday) to take a look.

Here is our "yard" - the area underneath our apartment's balcony. After our rainy month, the greenery was lush and vibrant. The drains could not keep up with the amount of water so a temporary rain-created "pond" appeared.

Rain-created "pond" - 6/29/24 - St Paul, MN

The still water created a cool reflection of the apartment building and trees.

Tree reflection in the "pond" - 6/29/24 - St Paul, MN

Out in front of our building, the river didn't quite come up to the level of the walking paths and grass. (When they were developing this area, they purposely built it up to be above flood level, using over 33,000 truckloads of dirt.) But the water level was quite high on the other side of the river.

High water at the High Bridge - 6/29/24 - St Paul, MN

In the other direction across the river is Harriet Island Park, and it was definitely flooded! (It's actually still closed as they do clean up from the inundation of water.)

Park building underwater on Harriet Island - 6/29/24 - St Paul, MN

Flag plaza underwater on Harriet Island - 6/29/24 - St Paul, MN

This tree looked like it was drowning!

Drowning trees - 6/29/24 - St Paul, MN

Here is where the pathway became flooded, right in front of the old grain elevator. We had to move to the sidewalk up a level to continue.

Flooded restaurant in old grain elevator - 6/29/24 - St Paul, MN

The combination of a flooded old building and a happy paddleboat felt very on brand.

Flooded building with paddleboat - 6/29/24 - St Paul, MN

Looking down from the upper level sidewalk, I enjoyed the subtle but pretty color palette created by the water on top of the grass and pathways. The water in the river itself looked light blue, fading to almost clear-white in places, while the flooded area had swathes of green and sandy brown. The red flowers provided a nice pop of color.

Walking and biking trails underwater - 6/29/24 - St Paul, MN

For readers outside the US who may not be familiar with the Mississippi River (source):

The Mississippi River is the second longest river in North America, flowing 2,350 miles from its source at Lake Itasca through the center of the continental United States to the Gulf of Mexico. The Missouri River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, is about 100 miles longer. Some describe the Mississippi River as being the third longest river system in the world, if the length of Missouri and Ohio Rivers are added to the Mississippi's main stem. When compared to other world rivers, the Mississippi-Missouri River combination ranks fourth in length (3,710 miles/5,970km) following the Nile (4,160 miles/6,693km), the Amazon (4,000 miles/6,436km), and the Yangtze Rivers (3,964 miles/6,378km).

Or as the Indigo Girls put it:

The Mississippi's mighty

But it starts in Minnesota

At a place that you could walk across

With five steps down

Have you seen the Mississippi River? If so, at what point on its route? Do you have any rivers near where you live? Do you have a favorite one? Have you ever been in a flood?

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