Terrible floods are reported from the Mississippi Valley. A section of the country equal in size to the whole State of Missouri is now under water, and steamboats are hurrying over what were once farm lands, rescuing the unfortunate families who have been caught by the floods.
The Mississippi, the largest river on our continent, flows through what is known as the Gulf Coast Plain.
The Gulf Coast Plain is formed by the valley lying between the great mountain ranges which make the framework of our country.
The Mississippi with its tributaries drains the whole of the enormous tract of land lying between these three main mountain ranges.
This great river forms the highway for the interior of our country, and winds through the plain for about a thousand miles. Every year when the heavy spring rains fall, and the snows melt in the north, the river overflows its bed, and floods the lowlands around it.

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