Big Eyes on the Croix

[NAGORSKI]

There's been a mayfly hatch in Red Wing as long as I can remember. They've had to use snow plows to clean em off the bridge. Yes the 'sippi is cleaner than peaple think. The difference is the muddy bottom, in Prescott that's why there is a noticable line.Love em both.

[Metrorugby]

Think about the land where the Miss goes through versus the Croix. THere is much more agriculture/development on the banks of the Miss vs. the Croix. THis in turn makes the river more sediment laden, which is not neccesarily worse, although it can be. Attached to sediments can be nutrients such as Phos and Nitrogen, along with metals. So what you are seeing is not because a muddy bottom, but more sediment loading.

[croixeyes]

Not to mention dredging and barge traffic.Look at the Miss in the winter,Its a different looking river as opposed to open water.Most pollution is invisible but people look at the water,if its muddy it must be polluted!I grew up on the Miss and never had a problem eating fish out of it.In fact,my extra arm I grew means more jigs in the water

[River Dan]

If you go down to the miss during ice up it is actually quite clear and down by pool 4 you can even see with the underwater camera, the miss flows through farm land and its river valley is made up of a soft basin dirt,clay and not alot of sedimentary rock, thats way it has that color, its really just soil, silt and clay from all the run off and when winter hits the miss clears up. The St Croix on the other hand flows through a hard river basin made up of sedimentary rock and its color looks sort of like tea because of the rock make up such as iron, just my .02

[BlueLiner]

Lets not forget that the Minnesota River impacts the turbidity of the Mississippi in a exponential manner. I have, read it is the tannins (from Tanic Acid produced in trees) that gives the St. Croix and many of the streams of the arrowhead region the color of tea.

Just my 2 cents. BL

[croixflats]

Turbidity and tannins you say. This is better than going to school.

Thanks for the intresting take on the Croix and the Big Muddy.

I think stirring the pot a little some good came out of it.