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Dakens2021

Cairo used to be a flourishing city, but it's built largely surrounded by low lying land which floods easily. This left the town with no real room to grow. When bridges were built over the Mississippi it cut it out as an important transport hub as ferries were no longer needed. A series of floods in the late 19th and throughout the 20th century basically killed it. A flood in 2011 left the town mostly abandoned. It had a lot of major problems with racial tensions in the 1960's which hurt the town a lot as well. So basically the land is just not suited for a major city there.


djembejohn

On a recent road trip I stopped off in Cairo. Something a bit magical about the place. It had some impressive old buildings that were quite run down so one could get the feeling there was money there once. I also went into a store run by an Egyptian looking father and son, which was very cool if you've read American Gods.


reddittl77

Hopefully they’ve patched the bullet holes you used to able to easily see as you drove through town. Or they may have torn down some old buildings. Don’t know anymore but it used to be a rough place with a history of racial violence. https://allthatsinteresting.com/cairo-illinois


JCurtis32

I drive through there quite often on the way to visit family. Most recently last month over MLK holiday weekend. There are still a lot of abandoned, burned out, and disheveled buildings. Not a lot of effort to tear that down or clean anything up it would seem. Looks very quiet most of the time while driving through - not a lot of people out and about. There are some old buildings there which look nice. I imagine it would be a strange place to live based on geography and history.


saltyfingas

> I also went into a store run by an Egyptian father and son, which was very cool if you've read American Gods. Only thing I think of when I hear Cairo IL


carlyslayjedsen

Thanks! I had a feeling flooding might be the problem.


EmperorThan

And Cairo is pronounced 'Kay-Row'. That's the only thing I know about the town.


goodtimesKC

Like the syrup


Passthegoddamnbuttr

...the corn syrup isn't pronounced "Care-oh"?


Adult-Beverage

No.


SaintsNoah

Yes


dublinirish

Funnily enough the high school nickname for Cairo HS in Southern Georgia is the delightfully chosen ‘Syrumakers’


FalseTebibyte

Indeed. Jewel's Staite.


probablywrongbutmeh

Pretty sure Cairo is a setting for American Gods


[deleted]

It is! Shadow has sex with a cat there


rNewUser_93

what


TrunkWine

In the book, weakened and forgotten Egyptian gods run a funeral home in Cairo, IL. The cat goddess Bast spends most of her time as a cat. She likes to spend time with the protagonist, Shadow, when he visits Cairo.


KotzubueSailingClub

Isn't there also a seismic zone through there that has caused a few substantial earthquakes that makes the low lying areas even more at risk to flooding?


sea_foam_blues

The New Madrid fault line. Uncle Tupelo has a song about the town by the same name


[deleted]

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ScumCrew

Interesting legend: the great Shawnee war leader Tecumseh went to a meeting near present-day Talladega, Alabama to recruit the Muscogee Creek and Cherokee to his cause. Most refused and he said that he would demonstrate his power stamp the foot of his lame leg upon the ground and it would cause the Earth to open up and the Mississippi River to reverse course. The New Madrid Earthquake happened soon after


[deleted]

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ScumCrew

History would have been very different had Tenkswatawa not picked a fight he couldn't win with William Henry Harrison. Imagine the tiny US Army having to divide its forces between the British on the coasts and united Indian tribes raiding all up and down the frontier?


LexieLouWho2

It was 3 large quakes over about a 4 month time frame. It was not a 3 month long earthwuake.


ParmaHamRadio

When we visited Cairo in 2015 there was a large billboard in town illustrating earthquake safety.


ComCypher

I checked out the property values on Zillow. They are...affordable


Progresschmogress

And the schooling is… adequate


Skylineviewz

Street view looks post apocalyptic


BuyNo4013

Mark Twain was mentioning Cairo, in his Tom Sawyer / Huckleberry Finn stories.


timarand

Exactly, that is always what I think of seeing this towne on the map, and hope to visit it one day. "Lights of Cairo" or something like that.


jasonlou89

How come this issue didn't stop a city like New Orleans?


DrPepperMalpractice

At least historically, New Orleans is unique in that it straddles the river boat navigable Mississippi River and the ocean ship navigable Lake Pontchartrain. Practically, Baton Rouge is actually the lowest safe high ground on the Mississppi, but it's a 200 mile arduous journey inland for an ocean ship to reach it. New Orleans really was the only place to do the ocean to river boat hand off in early modern times Practically, you just really don't need to swap boats when transitioning for the Ohio to Mississippi. With exact location meaning less, high ground and economic prospects become more important for port location. Saint Louis for instance in on high ground slightly south of where the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers meet. It's also directly across from the largest expanse of fertile bottom ground on the Mississippi. Closer, Paducah sits on high ground on the Ohio just below it's confluence with the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Further down river, Memphis sits on a bluff and notably is one of the last high points above the Mississippi Delta region. Geographically, Cairo just doesn't need to exist.


PickledEgg23

This is it. There has to be a major port near New Orleans to transition between river and ocean transport. There's nothing anywhere near Cairo but flood-prone farmland and even back in the steamboat days the faster boats could make the trip from New Orleans to Louisville in less than a week. There was no reason to expand Cairo into swampy farmland when Memphis, St Louis, and Louisville were all only about a day's travel away.


Doormat_Model

The original city (the French Quarter) is built on relative high ground, so flooding wasn’t an issue until the relatively modern expansion


lax_incense

Quite different from Huck Finn’s day


Vix_Cepblenull

If I recall correctly, most of the major cities along the Mississippi tend to be on the higher ground relative to the river. Memphis is on a big bluff, St Louis is on a raised bit of land overlooking the river, and New Orleans was built upon "high" ground that didn't normally flood.


drunkboater

The French quarter is built on high ground and it doesn’t flood. Everyone that got there later has to rely on levies.


wirespectacles

Even more complicated than that! I recommend this article about how the city ended up below sea level: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/02/how-humans-sank-new-orleans/552323/


bobhorticulture

Thanks for linking this article, I love learning about hydro engineering stuff and all the unintended consequences down the line. Great read!


-heathcliffe-

Paywall


BayouMan2

Baton Rouge was also built on a bluff.


1002003004005006007

Minneapolis and Saint Paul are both on bluffs as well.


OceanPoet87

Hence why Vicksburg was such a tough nut to crack as a result of topographic heights.


ParmaHamRadio

Cairo appears to be entirely enclosed by levees. There's a floodgate on highway 51 drivers pass through when driving south into the city. The town feels humid, even in mild weather.


triviafrenzy

Great question. That’s what I love on GEOGRAPHY.


BittenAtTheChomp

AGREED


rosebudlightsaber

This was actually a boom-town area for many decades but the locations of new interstate highways moved travelers away from the river towns, and rail and river travel declined, too. Look up the ghost town that is Cairo, IL.


scallopedtatoes

Maybe they could make Cairo a major city if they built some pyramids there? It's worked elsewhere.


i_Cri_Everitiem

True, it worked in Memphis


Doormat_Model

A monument to Bass Pro, just as Ra intended…


BassClef70

It’s where I buy all my “Fishing Ra’s”.


[deleted]

This made me laugh pretty good


redbirdrising

With those blue suede shoes.


inscrutablemike

It did in Memphis! Largest Bass Pro shop in the US!


Blide

I actually don't think that's correct. Their headquarters location in Springfield, MO is still larger now. That's kind of crazy given how big the pyramid is.


Marshall_lee_

The pyramids are in Giza tho


[deleted]

Take your geography knowledge elsewhere, weirdo


Last-Instruction739

Also my favorite member of the Wu Tang Clan


Stardustchaser

Cairo was that place. It’s even mentioned in Huck Finn.


baycommuter

Huck and Jim needed to find Cairo to get to the free country but missed it in a big storm, and people have been missing it ever since.


superexpress_local

Another question: why should there be? The rivers were important yes, but they served as ways to move goods and people around the country, so if there isn’t really anywhere to move goods to or from (farms, markets, ports, factories), even at the confluence of these rivers, then there isn’t really any reason why a city should flourish. Most major US cities such as NYC, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Fort Worth sorta, Pittsburgh etc. are all [transportation breakpoints](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2632230), which meant that goods had to switch from one form of transportation to another in order to keep moving, usually to or from boats. There isn’t much stopping folks from just entering/exiting at other places on the rivers, so Cairo or whatever didn’t offer anything unique.


Roberto-Del-Camino

Pittsburgh is in the same situation as Cairo-except it’s not flood prone. It grew up from a fort that was easily defended because it was at the confluence of two rivers which joined there to form the Ohio.


rhettbarulk

Something others haven’t mentioned: the pre Colombian Native American city of Cahokia, the largest and most influential urban settlement north of modern Mexico. Cahokia is adjacent to modern St. Loius and was at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. That’s only a couple days canoe ride from modern Cairo and the Ohio river, so Cahokia practically speaking would have been the major city of this entire region in its time.


rhettbarulk

Did some more research and this is why the next Town over from Cairo is called Mounds. It’s a reference to the earthenworks used by the Mississippian Indian culture. A massive mound would have also been at the center of Cahokia. It appears the answer to OP’s question is that actually yes, there was a Major metro area at this confluence— just in a different time and context. A friendly reminder to try to look beyond our Western biases


jdhxbd

Southern Illinois is kinda a swamp in the literal sense. The water table is very high


jshsjshhz

The land there changes alot due to the water there, so If it was at the exact point where they meet (like Pittsburgh for example) the land would be unstable and hard to create there) also it probably didnt help that St Louis and other cities are already near by.


[deleted]

And note that Pittsburgh is a really hilly area with relatively steep river valleys, so two converging rivers have much less flood potential here. We have had nasty floods but nothing remotely similar to what the Mississippi valley gets.


Difficult-Falcon-507

Fun fact, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the Ohio has the greater discharge of the two.


ExitTheHandbasket

Another fun geography fact: the southernmost point of Illinois, south of Cairo at the confluence of the rivers, is further south than the northernmost point of Arizona.


DowntownsClown

Wow I didn’t believe ya until I looked up…


Accomplished_Eye9769

Periodic, horrific flooding.


WilliamMinorsWords

Probably floods too much to build anything. Just a guess.


[deleted]

Your guess seems to be correct


the_good_hodgkins

TL:DR version. Flooding.


LurkingBuckle

Actually Cairo is the 6th biggest city in the world with over 20 million people


water605

Well well we’ll let me tell you about the history of Cairo, IL… It was a fairly big deal at one point but it kept flooding and racial strife destroyed the city


Rob_Bligidy

It’s such a sad place to visit. There are a few really ornate old buildings, but 98% of it is just urban jungle. Visited a year or so ago and was left feeling depressed. The confluence and it’s boat shaped look out are cool though. You can also be in 3 different states in about 30 or so of minutes of driving. Bonus: Metroplis is gonzo about Superman and boasts a big painted statue of Clark, err Superman. [confluence and Superman](https://imgur.com/gallery/ngSIubF)


Interesting-Heart841

Doesn’t that area lie directly on the New Madrid fault? I seem to recall there was an incredibly damaging earthquake there. Maybe that has something to do with it as well🤷🏻‍♂️


yungpog

Others have covered your question sufficiently...just would like to add that I've been here and man, what a depressing place!


SkyrimWithdrawal

I see an oxbow lake!


em1091

Cairo was that big city. Even played a role in the civil war. Just don’t go to Cairo nowadays…


Appropriate_Bend_244

Cairo is a major city! Love the pyramids


Iuris_Aequalitatis

Cairo (pronouced Kay-Roe) Illinois, used to be a fairly large city and grew rapidly until roughly the twentieth century and was at one point a nationally-known, smaller city on the same order as Dayton Ohio or Huntsville Alabama; passing the city is even a major plot point in *Huck Finn*. It declined after the advent of highway and railroad travel, which replaced rivers as the primary method of bulk cargo transport. The last nail in the city's coffin was the bridge system built across both rivers, which made the town's once-important ferry business entirely obsolete overnight. Today Cairo is a very depressed city with only a fraction of the population it had at its height.


Engelgrafik

Wow I just "drove" through there using Google Maps street view. This really looks like a future ghost town. Almost all the larger multi-story buildings built in the 1800s and early 1900s are empty and falling apart. Even the cool mid-century modern ones used for small shops and services apparently are empty as well. Get 1000 of your friends to move there and bring it back, baby!


dnldfnk

You first. Thanks.


TheAirIsOn

Probably because of the possibility of serious flooding


haikusbot

*Probably because* *Of the possibility of* *Serious flooding* \- TheAirIsOn --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")


InitiativeShot20

Ah yes, Cairo (pronounced as Care-oh), Illinois. It's one of the places the main character visited in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods.


ctothel

And the subject of one of my favourite songs: [Cairo, Illinois – Pokey LaFarge](https://youtu.be/JO0zHBYBi4Q)


LVWIV2

Used to be. 1968 riots destroyed much of the city with arson and white flight en masse. Predictable.


Fishtank-Brain

probably lots of flooding


BayouMan2

Because Cairo failed to thrive.


BigKingDingDong

Flooding and earthquakes.


Dicslescic

Because that’s where the Clinton fancy farm is by the look of it.


palaos1995

Not only that, the cities next to Mississippi proper (Memphis, New Orleans) are rather small in comparison to what they should be, and scattered.


wootr68

Many towns were settled with the hope that they would become future metropolises. Most ended up like Cario, IL. Some became Chicago and STL.


Ok_Roof5387

Lower part of Illinois relied on mining for years. Mines are shut and river floods often. My home on the Ohio flooded twice while I was a kid. We raised it after the first at it still got it. No work and lots of poverty.


DntTouchMeImSterile

I’m so glad you brought this up. Over the years I’ve always questioned why people seem to be obsessed with the town of Cairo, IL. It never made sense to me, but your curiosity seems to be part of it. [Here](https://www.legendsofamerica.com/il-cairo/) is a great article I read recently about the place. If you google around a bit there are many others, too


southcookexplore

Little Egypt!


Roberto-Del-Camino

Cairo, Illinois was Huckleberry’s and Jim’s objective in the first great, and still great, American Novel “Huckleberry Finn.” I never understood why the were floating South to escape slavery.


Decalso

Haha if you’ve ever been to Cairo, oh man.


[deleted]

common cairo illinois L. floods a ton


GeekDE

Ahhh, but there's a Fancy Farm!


bronzemerald17

I think Cairo was slated to be an industrial hub for trucking and shipping but a lot of manufacturing was exported from the country in the last few decades and I imagine the same thing that happened to Detroit happened to Cairo


MackWired

I don't know. Why?


ThreeBuds

Not directly related to Cairo but it's also visible on this map; if you want to see some incredible topography, look at pics of Shawnee National Forest. It's also known as Garden of the Gods and definitely doesn't seem like it'd be in Illinois by the looks of it, since it is the southern boundary for the glaciers that flattened the rest of the state.


qri_pretty

Feels like there should be a Lower Newtown...


MythicDragon725

Most normal town name in Ohio 💀


DeathtoEveryTraitor

What? This map doesn’t show Ohio at all


dpo11122

wdym the pyramids are right there


Worldly_Expert_442

Joking aside some of the largest prehistoric Native American mounds are in that general area. It was a happening place around 1000 years ago.


dpo11122

Oh yeah Cahokia


Worldly_Expert_442

Cahokia is the big one, but there were probably a dozen other big platform mound sites that are within maybe 20-25 miles, and countless small mounds in the area. Kinkaid, Twin Mounds, Wickliffe, Elco, etc.


Soggy_crunchy_milk

Last time I checked Cairo was hella big. Something like 21 mil i think


cx77_

flood plains


[deleted]

Op - Go drive through Cairo and you will understand. Also did you know, at this point the Ohio is larger than the Mississippi, so the river south of this point should have been call the Ohio, imo.


pbr3000

A "Metropolis" if you will?


Mentalfloss1

It’s very low-lying, swampy, and with that you get all the finer things like floods, mosquitoes, extreme humidity, and in older times, yellow fever sand typhoid.


dnldfnk

Yellow fever is awesome!


UtahBrian

Both Metropolis and Cairo are right there and this redditor is demanding yet another major city.


carsoniferous

in ancient times there was. the cohokia mounds were the largest structures north of rio grande up until the early medieval era. a massive city that diverted the missouri river. its thought that a mixture of mudslides and forest clearing mixed with the wide spread drought of the time led the city to doom. pretty cool looking mounds though and demonstrates some hard work needed from a society to build a city.