Western Rivers System
What are the western rivers?
The Mississippi River System, also referred to as the Western Rivers is a variation of the standard U.S. aids to navigation system.
This system of markers is used on the Mississippi River and its tributaries above Baton Rouge, LA and on certain other rivers which flow toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Western Rivers System does not use numbers.
Instead, numbers are fixed below day-marks that indicate the distance in milers to the river mouth.
Diamond-shaped crossing dayboards, red or green as appropriate, are used to indicate where the river channel crosses one bank to the other.
![Western Rivers System map](https://aceboater.com/hs-fs/hubfs/courses/usa2022/images/images-transparentes/western-waterway-marking_system.png?width=1100&height=1140&name=western-waterway-marking_system.png)
How long does it take to travel the Mississippi river by boat?
it can take as little as 14 days and up to 50 days.
Do you need a license to drive a boat on the Mississippi river?
All persons born after June 30, 1980, must have passed a boating education course approved by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to legally operate a vessel.