The Mississippi River is the major river of the largest drainage system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, it rises in northern Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for 3,730 km to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. Its many tributaries drain all or parts of 31 US states and 2 Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The false color image very nicely shows the meandering Mississippi River through the states of Ohio and Arkansas, with the Arkansas River flowing into the Mississippi from the west.