Mississippi Hydraulic Model, Mississippi

A 200-acre functional model of the entire Mississippi River drainage area, located on a field surrounded by forests, and now abandoned. Constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers to model the flow characteristics of the river, as part of the design process for their numerous flood control structures. Built over a 20 year period starting in the 1940's, initially using forced labor from a German POW camp established next to the site, and used last in the early 1980's, this is the largest hydraulics model ever made in the USA, and among the largest in the world. Two other models of this type were made in the USA, the Chesapeake Bay Model (8 acres), and the San Francisco Bay Model (1.5 acres).