Floodwaters at the Confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers

What happens downriver can be largely affected by what happens upriver in the floodplains of major rivers.

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Floods Along the Ohio River

Heavy rain and snow swelled the rivers of Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, pushing many past flood stage during the first two weeks of January 2005. The flooding occurred after several days of rain and snow fell on the already saturated ground of the U.S. Midwest. Since the water could not be absorbed into the soaked ground, it ran off as flood water. The storms were followed by warm temperatures, which melted the snow and produced further flooding. By January 17, some of the flooding had started to recede, but large tracts of land along the Ohio and Wabash Rivers were still under water.

Image of the Day Land Floods Snow and Ice

Floodwaters Recede along Wabash and Ohio Rivers

Acquired June 4, 2011, and May 3, 2011, these natural-color images compare flooded and post-flood conditions at the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers.

Land Floods

Flooding Along the Ohio River

Heavy rainfall and melting snow, plus some ice jams, raised rivers to their highest stages in nearly 20 years.

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Confluence of Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo, IL

The Ohio River becomes a tributary of the Mississippi River directly south of Cairo, Illinois, a small city on the spit of land where the rivers converge. Brown, sediment-laden water flowing generally northeast to south from the Ohio River is distinct from the green and relatively sediment-poor water of the Mississippi River (flowing northwest to south). The color of the rivers in this image is reversed from the usual condition of a green Ohio and a brown Mississippi.

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Flooding along the Wabash and Ohio Rivers

Acquired May 3, 2011, and April 14, 2010, these natural-color images show the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers.

Land Floods

Flooding at the Junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers

Floods blanket farmland around the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in this Landsat image from May 3, 2011.

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High Waters along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers

Acquired March 12, 2011, and February 12, 2011, these false-color images show parts of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers before and after melting snow raised water levels.

Land Floods

Flooding on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers

Floods

Flooding in Montana and North Dakota

Acquired June 5, 2011, and June 16, 2010, these false-color images compare conditions along the Milk, Souris, and Missouri Rivers in Montana and North Dakota.

Land Floods