64 Rivers What they Carry. 



1 8. Some rivers carry from the lands through 

 which they flow rapidly great quantities of 

 soft earth or mud, called silt, which they de- 

 posit at or near their mouths. 



19. Noted for this are the Mississippi, 

 Nile, Ganges, Danube, Po, Rhone, and 

 Rhine. 



20. The mud deposited in this way divides the 

 stream at its mouth, giving it several mouths ; 

 the land so filled between these mouths is called 

 a delta. 



21. The land on which the City of New 

 Orleans stands, and for a long distance all 

 around it and down to the Gulf of Mexico, was 

 carried there by the Mississippi River and 

 its branches. 



22. Look at the Gulf of Mexico 

 where the Mississippi flows into it and 

 you will see that a large part of the 

 Gulf has been filled up in this way. 

 The State of Louisiana is, therefore, 

 growing larger every year, and the 

 mouth of that great river is getting 

 further and further from the City of 

 New Orleans. A like effect is caused 

 by the River Nile where it flows into 

 the Mediterranean Sea. 



23. It is estimated that the Missis- 

 sippi River carries down every five The Biver Nile, 

 years an amount of silt sufficient to cover the whole of 

 the State of Rhode Island twelve inches deep. 



