Travel from the steamy delta beyond New Orleans, upstream to headwaters in great northern swamps, and along the Mississippi's greatest tributary, the Missouri. The crew encounter a wealth of wildlife, from tropical manatees to ancient horseshoe crabs, primitive giant fish, colorful herons, industrious beavers, deadly rattlesnakes, herds of buffalo, and prairie dog colonies. Dramatic reconstructions illustrate what the river was like when the first explorers encountered it, meeting Indian tribes and witnessing new wildlife spectacles.

Perhaps the best known river on the planet, made famous by writers like Mark Twain, by the romance of the steamboat age and by the blues music spawned along its banks, Ol' Man River still hides many secrets.

Perhaps the best known river on the planet, made famous by writers like Mark Twain, by the romance of the steamboat age and by the blues music spawned along its banks, Ol' Man River still hides many secrets.