Physical Geography

MississippiMississippi is one of the Southern States of the United States.
Land

Mississippi lies in part of the Gulf Coastal Plain region of the United States. It is a low-lying, flat to rolling state, averaging 300 feet (91 m) above sea level. The Yazoo Basin, running northward from Vicksburg between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, is a delta region formed long ago by Mississippi River sediments and is commonly called the Delta. It is fertile, productive, and the largest tract of flat land in the state.

Places to visit in Mississippi
Following are brief descriptions of some of Mississippi's most interesting places to visit:
Capitols, in Jackson, offer many reminders of the state's rich history. The Old Capitol, now the state historical museum, was built chiefly by slave labor between 1833 and 1842. Here, Mississippi voted in January 1861 to secede from the Union. The New Capitol, which was built in 1903, houses the Legislature and the governor's offices.
Churches. The Church of the Holy Trinity in Vicksburg, completed in 1880, has a memorial honoring the Union and Confederate soldiers who fought in the siege of Vicksburg during the American Civil War. St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Woodville dates from 1824, and the First Presbyterian Church in Port Gibson from 1829.
Delta Blues Museum, in Clarksdale, includes videotaped presentations, photographs, sound-and-slide shows, and memorabilia of blues artists and their music.
Elvis Presley's Birthplace, at Tupelo in northeastern Mississippi, is the site where the famous singer was born and spent his early years. The house is now part of Elvis Presley Park.
Fort Massachusetts, on Ship Island, was a Union stronghold during the American Civil War. Union forces captured the fort from the Confederates in 1861.
Natchez Trace Parkway follows the route of the Natchez Trace, an important Indian and pioneer trail between Natchez and Nashville, Tennessee. Sites along the route include Mount Locust, a restored inn built near Fayette in 1777, and Cypress Swamp, north of Jackson.
Old Spanish Fort, in Pascagoula, is one of the Gulf Coast’s oldest buildings, though it is neither Spanish nor a fort. The structure was part of a settlement and fort built in 1718.
Petrified Forest, near Flora, contains giant stone trees dating back 30 million years. Facilities there include a nature trail, a geological museum, a rock and gem shop, and picnic areas.
Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center, in Jackson, has exhibits that depict the experience and heritage of black Mississippians from their African roots to the present. The museum is housed in the former Smith Robertson School, the first public school for blacks in Jackson.
Stately old homes in or near Natchez are reminders of the way of life of wealthy Mississippians before the American Civil War. These mansions include Auburn (built in 1812), D'Evereux (1840), Dunleith (1856), Edgewood (1860), Gloucester (1803), Linden (1800), Melrose (1845), Monteigne (1855), Longwood (1860), Rosalie (1820), and Stanton Hall (1857). Cedar Grove (1840) and Duff Green (1856) are in Vicksburg. Other homes include Temple Heights (1837) in Columbus, Waverley (1852) near Columbus, and Grey Gables (1849) in Holly Springs. Confederate President Jefferson Davis spent his boyhood at Rosemont, near Woodville.
Vicksburg National Military Park is the site of the siege of Vicksburg, which lasted from May 19 to July 4, 1863. The siege, which ended in a Union victory, was a major turning point of the American Civil War. Monuments in the park honor the states represented in the battle. Each state's monument is located at the site where that state's troops drew their battle lines.
National forests. Mississippi has six national forests. The largest of these is De Soto in southeastern Mississippi. The state's other five national forests are Homochitto in the southwest; Bienville, Delta, and Tombigbee in central Mississippi; and Holly Springs in the northern part of the state.
State parks. Mississippi has 23 state parks. For information on these state parks, write to Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, P.O. Box 451, Jackson, MS 39205.

Elsewhere the terrain consists mainly of rolling hills and occasional areas of relatively level prairie land. Chief among the hilly tracts are the Bluff Hills, which overlook the Yazoo Basin; the Red Hills in east-central Mississippi; the Pine Hills in the south; and Pontotoc Ridge in the northeast. Mississippi's highest point is Woodall Mountain, rising 806 feet (246 m) in the northeastern corner. The Gulf coast is marked by sandy beaches, offshore bars, and small, elongated islands, including Cat, Ship, Horn, and Petit Bois islands, which form most of Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Water

Fringing the coast is Mississippi Sound, an arm of the Gulf of Mexico between the offshore islands and the mainland. There are three small bays: St. Louis, Biloxi, and Pascagoula.

Many rivers drain the state. The western half is drained by the broad, meandering Mississippi. Levees in many places line its course to protect against floods and maintain navigational channels. Principal tributaries include the Yazoo-Tallahatchie and Big Rock rivers. Flowing into Mississippi Sound are the two major rivers of the southeast—the Pearl and the Pascagoula. Except for a small area that is part of the Tennessee River Basin, northeastern Mississippi is drained by the Tombigbee.

There are few natural lakes other than oxbow lakes along the Mississippi River and in the Yazoo Basin. The largest inland bodies of water are man-made reservoirs created by dams, mainly for flood-control and recreational purposes. Among them are Ross Barnett Reservoir and Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid, and Grenada lakes. Pickwick Lake, a reservoir of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on the Tennessee River, lies partly in Mississippi.

Mississippi'sMississippi's state flower is the magnolia
Climate

Like most of the South from eastern Texas to the Atlantic coast, Mississippi has the humid subtropical type of climate. Summers are long, hot, and humid; winters are short and relatively mild.

July temperatures average between 80° and 84° F. (27° and 29° C.), the hottest areas being inland. Average January temperatures range between 43° F. (6° C.) in the north and 54° F. (12° C.) in the south. There are many summer days when temperatures rise to 90° F. (32° C.) or more. Winter temperatures occasionally fall below freezing. Cold weather, snow, and sleet occur primarily in the northern part.

Precipitation is heavy throughout the state. It ranges from 50 to 65 inches (1,270–1,650 mm) annually, the increase being from north to south. Much of it is brought by thunderstorms. Tornadoes and hurricanes occasionally strike the state.

Interesting facts about Mississippi
The world's first heart transplant into a human being was performed by surgeon James D. Hardy at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson in 1964. Hardy replaced a human heart with the heart of a chimpanzee. The operation introduced important techniques used in later successful human-to-human heart transplants.
The Pascagoula River is known as the Singing River. The sound it makes, best heard in warm months toward evening, resembles the sound of a swarm of bees in flight. According to an Indian legend, a young chieftain of the Pascagoula tribe wooed and won a princess of the rival Biloxi tribe who was already engaged. The furious Biloxi attacked the Pascagoula, demanding the surrender of the offending chieftain. The Pascagoula refused. Realizing they could not escape, they joined hands with the ill-fated couple and walked, singing, into the river.
Coca-Cola was first bottled in 1894 by Joseph A. Biedenharn, a candy store owner in Vicksburg.
Grenada was formed in 1836 by the union of two rival towns, Pittsburg and Tullahoma. The union was symbolized by an actual wedding ceremony in which the groom came from Pittsburg and the bride from Tullahoma.
The last world heavyweight bare-knuckle boxing championship was fought in Richburg, near Hattiesburg, in 1889. John L. Sullivan defeated Jake Kilrain in 75 rounds.
Mississippi'sMississippi's state tree is the magnolia.