Mississippi River Low Water Levels Expose Natural Walkway to Land Formation Tower Rock

South of St. Louis, in the middle of the Mississippi River, is a sizable island called Tower Rock. Normally, it is surrounded by river water and therefore only accessible by boat, but as a severe drought sweeps the Midwest, the river's extremely low water levels are making it possible for people to walk to the rock formation.

The river has receded enough, according to Missourian Jeff Biget, that anyone can walk to Tower Rock without getting their feet muddy or wet. Only once in his life does Biget recall being able to do this.

Tower Rock

As the water levels are predicted to continue to fall for at least the next two weeks, the hike from across the rocky river bed that served as a pathway to the island tower, as seen in photos posted on social media, poses little risk in the short term.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Tower Rock can indeed be reached on foot once the water level at the Chester, Illinois, river gauge is less than 1.5 feet. On Thursday, that gauge dropped to close to zero, and the forecast reveals no indication of a significant recovery.

US Drought

According to the US Drought Monitor, the portion of the contiguous United States that is experiencing drought has increased since April to over 55%. And the largest population impacted since 2016 lives in those drought-stricken areas: more than 133 million people.

Over 70% of Arkansas and almost 40% of Missouri are affected by severe drought, up from just 5% a month ago. Over the past few weeks, several locations, including Memphis, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Springfield, Missouri, have experienced record-low precipitation levels. The Climate Prediction Center predicts dry conditions with below-average rainfall through at least October 23.

The Mississippi River has been significantly impacted by the early autumn expansion of the drought in the central United States. This week, the river in Memphis has currently reached its lowest level since back in 2012 and the fifth-lowest level on record. The forecast predicts that it will drop even more by the following week, reaching its third-lowest level ever.

Mississippi River Basin

The Mississippi River Basin has over 40 river gauges, and information gathered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that the water levels are low. Bailey White, a resident of Tennessee who lives north of Memphis, claims that the Mississippi River's water level has never dropped this low. White claims that although she and her family go boating on the river a few times per month, they had trouble launching it on Saturday.

White said that She has seen water levels rise dramatically and drop slightly, although she has never seen the river levels this low. They couldn't even get their small boat onto the river, she continued. Before they succeeded, they had to try up to five different docks. Since it's a small boat, it doesn't float in deep water, but they occasionally needed to pay closer attention to avoid hitting some sand.

Pictures demonstrate how the river has shrunk away from its banks. In some places, the normally mighty Mississippi resembles more of a trickle because dry sand is exposed where several meters of water usually flows.

Low water levels occur at a critical time of year for the movement of crops out of the country's interior. To keep traffic moving (albeit much more slowly), the Army Corps of Engineers is putting its efforts into dredging sections of the river. Many barges and other vessels have been lining up in anticipation of being given the all-clear to cross the dangerously low river.

Read also: Mississippi River Communities Are Threatened by the River's Alarmingly Low Water Level 

Produce and Harvests

According to David Gilbert, the superintendent of the Consolidated Grain and Barge Company's Greenville, Mississippi office, which purchases, stores, and trades crops for shipping, it can typically transport grain on barges stocked with up to 80,000 bushels.

However, recently, the company has been forced to maintain much lighter loads, at around 55,000 bushels, due to the low water levels.

Gilbert claimed that they are not currently loading and that he has never seen it lower than it is now.

Gilbert said that many farmers are choosing to throw away their harvests in their bins right now rather than ship them while they wait for better circumstances, which could take weeks.

Temporary Travel Destination

Yet, despite the supply chain crisis worsening, a lighthearted atmosphere is emerging around Tower Rock.

Elainna Froemsdorf said that walking along the river to Tower Rock is a rare occurrence. She went on the hike with her grandchildren on Monday, a day off from school. She says that the third generation of her family to walk out to the formation is her grandchildren. Adilyn Crowden, her granddaughter, enjoyed the novel experience.

Crowden said that she had never done anything similar before, so it was a little difficult but enjoyable, CNN reports.

Related article: Low Water Levels in the Mississippi River Drives Barge, Supply Prices Up, Farmers Suffer Low-Balling