Drought In Mississippi River Basin Slows Down Vital Barge Traffic

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 19: The Diamond Lady, a once majestic riverboat, rests with smaller boats in the mud at Riverside Park Marina in Martin Luther King Jr. Riverside Park along the Mississippi River on October 19, 2022 in Memphis, Tennessee. Lack of rain in the Ohio River Valley and along the Upper Mississippi has the Mississippi River south of the confluence of the Ohio River nearing record low levels which is wreaking havoc at marinas, and with barge traffic, driving up shipping prices and threatening crop exports and fertilizer shipments as the soybean and corn harvest gets into full swing. (Footage by Scott Olson/Getty Images)