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About Mississippi

Mississippi is located in the Southern 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. 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. 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 Tourism and Recreation

Travel Mississippi and check out exciting international literary legends - authors such as Tennessee Williams, Walker Percy, John Grisham or Mississippi tourist attractions like the civil war museums and civil war sites or the sounds of the Birthplace of Blues - the Mississippi Delta.

The Hills Region is rich with wooded vistas and colorful history. William Faulkner and Elvis started here, as did many fierce battles of the Civil War. The University of Mississippi rises from the rolling ground of Oxford. And the historic Natchez Trace winds through on its way south from Tennessee. DeSoto explored the Hills Region nearly 500 years ago.

From moss-draped trees to big city attractions, the Capital/River Region also features stately mansions, cannon-lined battlefields and rich southern history. Jefferson Davis grew up here, just down the river from where Union troops began their famous assault on Vicksburg. A trek to the Capital/River Region leads to Natchez and one of the greatest collections of pre-Civil War homes in America. It also leads to the state capital, Jackson, with its new Museum of Natural Science.

Mississippi Climate

Mississippi has a warm, humid climate, with long summers and short, mild winters. Temperatures average about 28‹ C (about 82‹ F) in July and about 9‹ C (about 48‹ F) in January. The temperature varies little across the state in summer, but in winter the region near Mississippi Sound is significantly warmer than most of the rest of the state. The recorded temperature in Mississippi has ranged from -28.3‹ C (-19‹ F), in 1966 at Corinth in the northeast, to 46.1‹C (115‹ F), in 1930 at Holly Springs in the north. Yearly precipitation generally increases from north to south. Thus, Clarksdale, in the northwest, gets about 1270 mm (about 50 in) of moisture annually and Biloxi, in the south, about 1550 mm (about 61 in). Small amounts of snow fall in northern and central Mississippi. In the late summer and the fall, the state is occasionally struck by hurricanes moving north from the Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi is also struck by tornadoes, especially from February to May.

Mississippi experiences mild winters and long, very hot summers with high humidity between May and September. Rainfall occurs throughout the year. Tornadoes, hurricanes and severe thunderstorms are possible. Average temperatures are higher along the coast.

Mississippi Transportaion

Amtrak provides scheduled passenger service along two routes, the Crescent and City of New Orleans.