Mississippi is a state located in the Deep South of the United States.
Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the
Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name
from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi ("Great River"). The state is heavily forested
outside of the Mississippi Delta area. Its catfish aquaculture farms produce the
majority of farm-raised catfish consumed in the United States. The state symbol
is the magnolia.
Mississippi is bordered on the north by Tennessee, on the east by Alabama, on
the south by Louisiana and a narrow coast on the Gulf of Mexico, and on the
west, across the Mississippi River, by Louisiana and Arkansas.
Major rivers in Mississippi, apart from its namesake, include the Big Black
River, the Pearl River, the Yazoo, the Pascagoula, and the Tombigbee. Major
lakes include Ross Barnett Reservoir, Arkabutla Lake, Sardis Lake and Grenada Lake.
Mississippi State MapThe state of Mississippi is entirely composed of
lowlands, the highest point being Woodall Mountain, in the foothills of the
Cumberland Mountains, only 806 feet (246 m) above sea level. The lowest point is
sea level at the Gulf coast. The mean elevation in the state is 300 feet (91 m)
above sea level.
Most of Mississippi is part of the East Gulf Coastal Plain. The Coastal Plain
is generally composed of low hills, such as the Pine Hills in the south and the
North Central Hills. The Pontotoc Ridge and the Fall Line Hills in the northeast
have somewhat higher elevations. Yellow-brown loess soil is found in the western
parts of the state. The northeast is a region of fertile black earth that
extends into the Alabama Black.
The coastline includes large bays at Bay St. Louis,Biloxi and Pascagoula. It is separated from the
Gulf of Mexico proper by the shallow Mississippi Sound, which is partially
sheltered by Petit Bois Island, Horn Island, East and West Ship Islands, Deer Island, Round Island and Cat Island.
The northwest remainder of the state is made up of a section of the
Mississippi Alluvial Plain, also known as the Mississippi Delta. The Mississippi
Alluvial Plain is narrow in the south and widens north of Vicksburg. The region
has rich soil, partly made up of silt which had been regularly deposited by the
floodwaters of the Mississippi River.
