A symptom of the midwestern drought is the shrinking Missouri River that has reached record low water levels, restricting trade on the river and exposing hundred year-old paddle steamer wrecks. Nearly sixty percent of the northern Great Plains and Midwest is experiencing below average rainfall causing the river levels to drop, disrupting barge traffic critical to moving harvest products downstream for export. The river carries more than half of US grain exports, but traffic is down about 45%.
The river was never easy to navigate as Mark Twain famously discovered working on paddle steamers in the 19th century. In modern times, the rivers has been extensively altered and dredged to keep it navigable. But in this drought sandbars once sufficiently covered by water to allow safe passage are now exposed, or nearer to the water's surface. The US Coast Guard has counted eight barge groundings Federal officials have temporarily closed some stretches of the river and advised barge operators to lighten their loads. [the Diamond Lady, credit Getty Images]
