🔍 Key Concepts

• Inland River Navigation depths on major systems like the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers • Typical towboat and barge draft requirements for safe navigation during low water • Difference between minimum maintained channel depth and actual water depth at a given time

💭 Think About

• Think about what size vessels and barge tows regularly operate between Baton Rouge and Cairo and what draft they typically need. • Consider which of these depths sounds realistic for a long stretch of inland river that must remain navigable even in low water conditions. • Eliminate any answer choices that would be clearly too shallow or unnecessarily deep for economical river barge traffic.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify what typical barge drafts are on the Lower and Upper Mississippi during normal operations. • Consider whether a 30-foot maintained channel would be realistic or cost‑effective for an inland river system. • Ask whether 9 feet would be sufficient for fully loaded river tows in commercial service between these two points.