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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.

To keep the river within its bounds, mounds of earth, called levees, have
been built for hundreds of miles along the banks. The Mississippi floods
are only dangerous when the thaws are very sudden, or the rains so heavy
that the river swells in size to such an extent that the levees are broken
down, and the water, bursting its bounds, rushes with an angry flood over
the surrounding country, destroying everything in its path.

As a usual thing the spring floods are beneficial to the country, for the