The Mississippi River near Smiths Landing is the section of the river extending from the St. Croix River outlet near Prescott, WI to near Sturgeon Lake, a backwater lake formed on the historical floodplain of the river. It is part of the USACE's 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project and located in navigation Pool 3. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area ends here at the border of Ravenna and Welch Townships, which is also the border of the seven county metro area. The Gores Pool Wildlife Management Area lies on the south side of this stretch of the river. Most monitoring in this section of the river has been for special studies.The Mississippi River is one of the world's largest rivers, flowing over 2,300 miles through the center of the United States. It begins at Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota and ends at the Gulf of Mexico, where pollutants carried by the river contribute to the Gulf's Dead Zone. Millions of people rely on the Mississippi River as a source of drinking water, and the river is also an important waterway for shipment of commodities. The Mississippi River watershed is the 4th largest in the world at about 1.2 million square miles. The section of the watershed in and upstream of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area has a mix of several types of land including forests, wetlands, agriculture, and developed areas.