The GEWEX Continental-Scale International Project (GCIP) is being carried out in the Mississippi River Basin under the auspices of the World Climate Research Program and its Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX). This paper provides a brief history of GCIP's development and its mission and objectives. The scientific achievements of GCIP are then reviewed against each of these objectives. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of options for the period beyond 2000 after the current phase of the project is completed. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union