{"id":2230,"date":"2026-09-21T11:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T11:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/bbc-wildlife\/?p=2230"},"modified":"2026-09-21T11:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T11:03:29","slug":"igreat-raft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/bbc-wildlife\/2026\/09\/21\/igreat-raft\/","title":{"rendered":"It stretched a humongous 250km and blocked a mighty American river for 900 years. Then humans destroyed it, unleashing a disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Environment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It stretched a humongous 250km and blocked a mighty American river for 900 years. Then humans destroyed it, unleashing a disaster<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The Great Raft fully lived up to its name; its legacy persists today, despite its removal in the 1870s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Words by<\/em> Fergus Collins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 21st, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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View down the Mississippi river from Natchez in the fall. Credit: BackyardProduction\/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Once upon a time, one of America’s great rivers was completely blocked by fallen trees. But this wasn’t just a minor obstruction, the logjam was at least 250km long and lasted an incredible 900 years. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“He described animals swallowing 94\u00b0C water and cooking from the inside out, boiled alive, before being able to escape.” 10 deadliest rivers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was known as the Great Raft and it posed a challenge to pioneers and politicians in North America<\/a>. But when it was finally removed in the 19th<\/sup> century, the unintended consequences were drastic and are still being paid for today, not least by the native people who had learned to live with the Great Raft and depend on it for their livelihood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Great Raft formed on the Red River, which was historically a tributary of the mighty Mississippi River<\/a>. It was an incredibly dense, intricately entangled mass of timber including cottonwood, cypress and cedar and other debris many metres deep that blocked the entire river creating a massive natural dam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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