PRESCOTT, Wis. — The latest installment of our KARE in the Air drone series takes us to a unique natural feature from the landscapes of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
This birds-eye look at where the mighty Mississippi River meets the sublime St. Croix at Prescott, Wisconsin show just how different these two tributaries are.
Notice the appearance of the water at the confluence of the two rivers. According to Friends of the Mississippi River, this is where Ol' Miss can get a bad rap. They say the muddy, milky water quality of the Mississippi at that point can actually be blamed on the Minnesota River, and its impact where the two meet slightly downstream. There, runoff from lots of row crop agriculture on property adjacent or near the Minnesota has a negative impact on the Mississippi's water quality.
The difference in water quality serves to underline the personalities of the two rivers. The Mississippi has a reputation as a working river, carrying barges filled with product from Minnesota all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and back again.
The St. Croix, on the other hand, is 164 miles of recreational paradise whose waters are largely used for canoeing, kayaking and boating. Nearly the entire St. Croix River and its major tributary, the Namekagon, are protected by the National Park Service and dubbed the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.
If you know of an iconic or unusual spot in Minnesota that we should fly over, leave your suggestion on one of our social media platforms or email it to kare11.com.