Wednesday, September 07, 2011

The pride of the American Educational System

Iowa always brags about our students high (comparatively) standardized test scores.

So explain the brilliance of people wondering why the 900 foot long, 110 foot wide battleship USS Iowa (also 38 foot draft) cannot be brought to y'know, landlocked Iowa?

6 comments:

pansypoo said...

i have seen your map. do you have any lake bigger than 900 ft?

Anonymous said...

find it fitting, wonder if they'll discuss the turret explosion of the mid 80s or will they just gloss that over with "a gay guy done it!" and not discuss the Iowa's orders from cincpacflt to try out that old ammo that had been sitting around since before they went to japan with FDR aboard and off sized cartridges?

joel hanes said...

From the mouth of the Mississippi to Baton Rouge, Lousiana, a 42-foot draft can be accomodated -- but above Baton Rouge, it looks as if the Corps only maintains the shipping channel for a 9-foot draft.

The first lock and dam is Chain of Rocks, #27, near St. Louis; it's 1200 feet long, but only engineered to 9 foot draft.

Standard lock size on the Upper Missisippi (north of the Missouri River confluence) is apparently 600 ft long by 110 ft wide.

Iowa has a couple lakes that are several miles long and more than a mile wide, but none with sufficient depth to float the Iowa

Marcellina said...

joel hanes, thank you. This was exactly the information I was hoping to find, as soon as I read the post.

joel hanes said...

Marcellina, you're welcome.

On further investigation, I find I was incorrect about the lakes -- one, West Okoboji, is deep enough that the Iowa could cruise about in the center. Average depth 37 feet, max depth well over a hundred. I had no idea.

jimmiraybob said...

I'm envisioning a canal. Do you know how many jobs an Iowa Canal program would provide?