RiverWeb: The American Bottom

RiverWeb: The American Bottom

In creating our demonstration site, we selected this area because of its pivotal location near the confluence of the two longest rivers in the United States, the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and the wealth of scientific, historical and cultural themes that can be explored within its reach.

Named the American Bottom by archeologists, this region is also commonly termed the American Bottoms by some historians. Bottom or Bottoms? Either term refers to lands built up by the deposition of silt and sediment as the river twists, turns and floods with the changing seasons. At least the river did so once, before becoming engineered this century with locks, dams and dykes.

In coming months, we'll be adding a number of pages concentrating on the science behind our present understanding of ways of large rivers, both natural and engineered. For now, though, we've piloted two landing sites in the vicinity, with a focus mainly on archaeology, history and culture.

East St. Louis

A city that's seen its fair share of good and bad times, a community with a rich history tied to river navigation and the nation's Reconstruction and westward expansion in the wake of the Civil War.

Cahokia

One thousand years ago this Native American city rose as the preeminent community in a far-flug network of towns and villages. Then, over a century before the first European explorers arrived, the civilization vanished. Why? Time travel back to the ancient City of Cahokia to find out more.