+ Visit NASA.gov + Advanced Search   + About the Server   + Animation List   + How to Use the Server   + RSS Feeds Previous Animation Next Animation Before and During the Great Mississippi Flood of 1993 During the first half of 1993, heavy rains in the Midwest United States caused the greatest flood ever recorded on the Upper Mississippi. The Mississippi River remained above flood stage from April through September of that year, and many of the dykes and water control systems along the rivers in this region were overwhelmed. These images from the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper clearly show the flooded regions near St. Louis. The pink areas near the flooded regions show the scoured land from which the flood waters have receded. A comparison of the image during the flood with an image from a year before clearly shows the preponderance of cultivated fields in the lowland flooded region, evidence that floods and river meanderings have deposited rich soil in these regions in the past.    This animation shows two images from Landsat-5 of the region around St. Louis, Missouri, one from 1991 during normal conditions and one during the flood of 1993. Duration: 4.0 seconds Available formats:   2048x2048 Frames   320x320     PNG           223 KB   160x80       PNG           31 KB   80x40         PNG           10 KB   512x512 (29.97 fps) MPEG-1   1 MB   512x512 (29.97 fps) MPEG-4   1 MB How to play our movies This product is available through our Web Map Service.   Click here to learn more.    An image from the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper of the region around St. Louis, Missouri, on August 14, 1991, one year before the Mississippi flood. The three rivers seen in this image are, from top to bottom, the Illinois, the Mississippi, and the Missouri. St. Louis is just south of the Missouri River in the center of this image. Available formats:   3390 x 3390     PNG 19 MB   320 x 320         PNG 220 KB   160 x 80           PNG 25 KB This product is available through our Web Map Service.   Click here to learn more.    An image from the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper of the region around St. Louis Missouri on August 19, 1993, just after the peak of the Mississippi flood. Available formats:   3390 x 3390     PNG 19 MB   320 x 320         PNG 220 KB   160 x 80           PNG 25 KB This product is available through our Web Map Service.   Click here to learn more. Animation Number: 3352 Animator: Horace Mitchell (SVS) (Lead) Completed: 2006-04-04 Scientist: Darrel Williams (NASA/GSFC) Instrument: Landsat-5/TM Data set: Landsat-5 Band Combination 5, 4, 2 Data Collected: 1991/08/14, 1993/08/19 Series: WMS Keywords: DLESE >> Human geography DLESE >> Hydrology DLESE >> Natural hazards GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Human Dimensions >> Natural Hazards >> Hydrological Hazards GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Hydrosphere >> Surface Water >> Floods GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Hydrosphere >> Surface Water >> Rivers/Streams More Information on this topic available at: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16881 Google Earth KML file is available here. DEPC Metadata is available here.     Please give credit for this item to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio Back to Top + Privacy Policy and Important Notices + Reproduction Guidelines NASA Official: SVS Contact: Curator: