places to visit in the mississippi alluvial plain

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Mississippi Alluvial Plain

Mississippi

• Phone: 601-713-3355

Existing much as they did centuries ago, these bottomland forests are home to bears, birds and more.

Along with swamps, bayous and rivers, the historic floodplain of the Mississippi River contained 24 million acres of hardwood forests. The remaining 4.4. million forested acres—often in small fragments—provide vital habitat for black bears, songbirds, alligator snapping turtles and abundant game species. Throughout Mississippi and the Delta, these smaller forested sections are challenging for animal species that require large, undisturbed forests to survive.

Water quantity and quality can also be trouble. As rivers have been leveed, dredged, straightened, drained and diverted, their natural flood cycles have been disturbed and their channels have become less stable. Water quality has declined with the addition of sediments, nutrients and runoff of herbicides and pesticides, making it difficult for animals and plants to survive.

In the Delta, TNC is continuing its long history of partnering with public agencies, private landowners, businesses and organizations to restore land. We are working with Delta National Forest and several Wildlife Refuges to improve the quality of land, most recently in Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge where tree planting and a reduction in erosion and nutrients in waterways will improve the area for plants, animals and communities.

SPECIFIC PROJECTS

Entergy Charitable Foundation provided funding in 2010 to reforest 900 acres of Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge with over 450,000 trees.

Working with the Bear Education and Restoration group, TNC helped secure significant government funding to restore 7,950 acres of privately owned bottomland hardwood forests and forested wetlands. These areas are critical habitat for the Louisiana black bear, game species and migratory songbirds.

In 1990, the Dahomey National Wildlife Refuge was created by the TNC transfer of 9,269 acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

FUTURE FOCUS

TNC strives to created protected wildlife corridors in the Delta, connecting naturally functioning ecosystems for the benefit of both wildlife and people. From restoring streams and wetlands to working with farmers to establish innovative water management practices on agricultural lands, each effort is vital in the effort to restore and improve the landscape.

With abundant support from rural landowners, TNC is supporting existing and new incentive packages including Farm Bill and carbon sequestration programs which provide financial incentives for private landowners to protect and restore critical forest and wetland areas in the Yazoo River Basin.

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Mississippi Alluvial Plain

Aka: mississippi delta aka: arkansas delta aka: delta aka: mississippi river delta aka: mississippi river valley.

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (a.k.a. Delta) is a distinctive natural region, in part because of its flat surface configuration and the dominance of physical features created by the flow of large streams. This unique physiography occupies much of eastern Arkansas including all or parts of twenty-seven counties. The Alluvial Plain, flatter than any other region in the state, has elevations ranging from 100 to 300 feet above sea level. In Arkansas, the Alluvial Plain extends some 250 miles in length from north to south and varies in width from east to west from only twelve miles in Desha County to as much as ninety-one miles measured from Little Rock (Pulaski County) to the Mississippi River .

The work of large rivers (including the Mississippi, Arkansas , White , and St. Francis rivers) and other smaller rivers and streams has played an important role in forming the character of the landscape. These rivers eroded older deposits and built up deep layers of soil, gravel, and clay transported from slopes as far away as the Rocky Mountains to the west and the Appalachians to the east. The result of these alluvial processes is a terrain and soil suitable for large-scale farming. In fact, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain is one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world.

Alluvial (stream-deposited) material covers almost the entire region. Interestingly, terraces are found throughout the Alluvial Plain, frequently paralleling streams but at a slightly higher elevation than the adjacent stream banks. These terraces are older than present bottomlands and represent former levels of bottomland through which streams have now eroded. The so-called recent alluvium has been deposited over the last 12,000 years and contains fertile “water-washed” material, especially silt.

The deep, fertile soils of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain are sometimes extremely dense and poorly drained. The combination of flat terrain and poor drainage creates conditions suitable for wetlands. Wetlands, areas where the periodic or permanent presence of water controls the characteristics of the environment and associated plants and animals, now cover approximately eight percent of Arkansas’s land surface. While some wetland areas remain intact, many have been drained and converted to agricultural land uses. Protecting the remaining wetlands and encouraging the restoration of some former wetland areas are significant natural resource conservation issues.

At one time, wetlands were very abundant across the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. The decline in wetlands began years ago when the first ditches were dug to drain extensive areas of the Alluvial Plain. Clearing bottomland hardwoods for agriculture and other activities has resulted in the loss of more than seventy percent of the original wetlands.

The majority of Arkansas’s wetlands, occupying a diverse physiographic setting, are often riverine and depressional wetlands associated with the floodplains of the Mississippi River and its major tributaries. Some of the most significant wetlands are referred to as “bottoms” or “bottomland hardwood forests .” Of particular importance is the Cache River and lower White River area, where impressive stands of bottomland hardwoods are found. It represents the largest continuous expanse of bottomland hardwoods in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Nearly one-third of the remaining bottomland hardwoods in the Arkansas Delta are found within the ten-year floodplain of the Cache and lower White rivers.

The wetlands of the Delta offer an internationally important winter habitat for migratory water fowl. The White River National Wildlife Refuge alone is a temporary home to between 3,000 and 10,000 Canada geese and up to 300,000 ducks per year. These large numbers account for one-third of the total found in Arkansas and ten percent of the Mississippi Flyway total.

Wetlands of Arkansas serve many important functions in addition to being a vital wildlife habitat, including flood storage and flood prevention, natural water quality improvement (sediment traps, for example), shoreline erosion protection, groundwater recharge, recreational opportunities, and aesthetic beauty.

The original natural vegetation of the region was significantly different from the other natural regions in Arkansas in part because of the region’s wetland characteristics. It was largely southern floodplain forest suited to the wet, poorly drained soils. Cypress-tupelo-gum types occupied the wettest sites. The willow oak and overcup oak were found on flat and poorly drained locations, and oak-hickory on higher and better drained terrace sites of the floodplain.

Currently, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain has been widely cleared and drained for cultivation. The widespread loss or degradation of forest and wetland habitat has impacted wildlife and reduced bird populations. Relatively small plots of natural vegetation remain along streams, in areas unsuitable for agriculture, or within areas protected from clearing and development. The most significant of these protected areas are the Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge , the Sunken Lands Wildlife Management Areas, the Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge , the St. Francis National Forest , and the White River National Wildlife Refuge.

A rather unique feature of this region is the Grand Prairie , an area of prairie soils and grasses that are found primarily in Arkansas and Prairie counties in eastern Arkansas. These prairie soils, with their very compact clay subsoil, are more suitable for grass than trees as the natural vegetation cover. The Grand Prairie is an extremely productive agricultural region and is noted for its high yields of rice . Stuttgart (Arkansas County) is known as the rice capital and duck capital of the world.

Another important characteristic of the Alluvial Plain is related to a significant natural hazard, earthquakes. These may occur along the New Madrid Seismic Zone . This seismic zone is a prolific source of intra-plate earthquakes (earthquakes within a tectonic plate) in the southern and mid-western United States. This seismic zone was responsible for the 1811–1812 New Madrid Earthquakes and has the potential to produce large earthquakes in the future. Several relatively small earthquakes have been recorded in the region since 1812, but an important question remains concerning the next “big” earthquake in terms of when it will occur and at what magnitude. As of 2011, according to some experts, there is a ten percent chance of a magnitude 7.0 quake within the next fifty years along the fault that extends from New Madrid, Missouri, to Marked Tree (Poinsett County) and beyond.

In addition to a unique physical landscape, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain has a number of distinctive cultural/demographic characteristics. In an article titled “Delta Population Trends: 1990–2000,” Jason Combs discusses the significant population decline that has occurred within counties bordering the Mississippi River. Population decline, economic depression, and other negative socioeconomic factors characterize many of these Delta counties. Data released from the 2010 census shows that the population decline is continuing within several Arkansas counties that are adjacent to or near the Mississippi River. The most significant population declines (between -10.1 and -20.5 percent) from 2000 to 2010 were in Mississippi , Lee , Phillips , Desha, Chicot , Monroe , and Woodruff counties. These counties have relatively high rates of unemployment and few or no positive features to reverse the trend of population decline, according to Combs.

These and other Delta counties have experienced population decline for a variety of reasons, in addition to high unemployment. According to Combs, part of the problem is the image of the Delta. Strained race relations, poverty , and resistance to social change have “tarnished” the Delta’s image and contributed to the absence of substantial economic development. Moreover, most Americans perceive the Delta as “flat and uninteresting, not a place to go for recreation, retirement, or a glamorous job,” according to an article by Richard Lonsdale and J. Clark Archer. Another contributing factor to the population loss in the Delta is agricultural mechanization. Improvement in mechanization and modern science allowed fewer farmers to produce as much or more agricultural output on the same amount of land with far less labor. The need for fewer farm workers coupled with the absence of other job opportunities has been a significant contributing factor to the population decline and the economic depression that many Delta counties are experiencing.

In summary, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain is a natural region with several distinguishing characteristics, including an extremely flat surface topography; deep alluvial soils; poor drainage; wetland areas; widely scattered bottomland and hardwood forests; large and highly productive farms; counties plagued by economic depression and population loss; and the Mississippi Flyway, with ideal locations for hunting, fishing, and other water-related sports activities. The result is a region marked by sharp social contrast: pockets of prosperity and wealth exist aside poverty and economic despair.

For additional information: Arkansas Department of Planning. Arkansas Natural Area Planning . Little Rock: State of Arkansas, 1974.

Bryan, Colgan Hobson Jr. “Breaking the Poverty Cycle: An Investigation into the Correlates of Propensity for Change among the Rural Impoverished in the Mississippi Delta.” PhD diss., Louisiana State University, 1968. Online at https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/1432/ (accessed May 18, 2022).

Collins, Janelle, ed. Defining the Delta: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Lower Mississippi River Delta . Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2015.

Combs, Jason. “Delta Population Trends: 1990–2000.” Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies 34 (April 2004): 26–35.

“Delta Is.” Delta Cultural Center. http://www.deltaculturalcenter.com/Learn/the-delta-is (accessed January 20, 2022).

Giggie, John M. After Redemption: Jim Crow and The Transformation of African American Religion in the Delta, 1875–1915 . New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Greene, Alison Collis. No Depression in Heaven: The Great Depression, the New Deal, and the Transformation of Religion in the Delta . New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Hagge, Patrick David. “The Decline and Fall of a Cotton Empire: Economic and Land-Use Change in the Lower Mississippi River ‘Delta’ South, 1930–1970.” PhD diss., Pennsylvania State University, 2013.

———. “From Mule to John Deere: Elements of Rural Landscape Change in the Mississippi Delta, 1930–1970.” Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies 49 (April 2018): 25–39.

Jolliffe, David A., Christian Z. Goering, Krista Jones Oldham, and James A. Anderson Jr. The Arkansas Delta Oral History Project . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2016.

Laurent, Brookshield, and Lauri Umansky, eds. “The Arkansisters Project: Self-Help Activism in the Delta through Grassroots Initiatives.” Special issue, Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies 54 (December 2023).

Lonsdale, Richard, and J. Clark Archer. “Emptying Areas of the United States, 1990–1995.” Journal of Geography 97 (1998): 108–122.

Pierce, Michael, and Calvin White, eds. Race, Labor, and Violence in the Delta: Essays to Mark the Centennial of the Elaine Massacre . Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2022.

Probasco, Susan E. “Delta Memories and Delta Days: Facets of Ladies’ Lives as Revealed to a Southern Daughter.” MA thesis, Louisiana State University, 2003. Online at https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/2384/ (accessed June 13, 2022).

Richards, Eugene. Few Comforts or Surprises: The Arkansas Delta . Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1973.

Schieffler, George David. “Civil War in the Delta: Environment, Race, and the 1863 Helena Campaign.” PhD diss., University of Arkansas, 2017.

Simpson, Stephen. “Banker: Capacity Needed.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , December 28, 2021, pp. 1A, 7A. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/dec/28/banker-capacity-needed/ (accessed January 20, 2022).

———. “Delta’s Cities Show Its Plight.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , December 27, 2021, pp. 1A, 4A. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/dec/27/deltas-cities-show-its-plight/ (accessed January 20, 2022).

———. “Depression Poses Major Health Risk.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , December 27, 2021, p. 4A. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/dec/27/depression-poses-major-health-risk/ (accessed January 20, 2022).

———. “State’s West Is a World Apart.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , December 26, 2021, pp. 1A, 6A, 7A. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/dec/26/states-west-is-a-world-apart/ (accessed January 20, 2022).

———. “Towns in Delta Losing People, Hope for Change.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , December 26, 2021, p. 7A. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/dec/26/towns-in-delta-losing-people-hope-for-change/ (accessed January 20, 2022).

———. “With Covid, Government’s Role in Delta Clearer.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , December 28, 2021, pp. 1A, 6A. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/dec/28/with-covid-governments-role-in-delta-clearer/ (accessed January 20, 2022).

Stone, Jayme Millsap. “‘They Were Her Daughters’: Women and Grassroots Organizing for Social Justice in the Arkansas Delta, 1870–1970.” PhD diss., University of Memphis, 2010. Online at https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/130/ (accessed June 21, 2022).

Stroud, Hubert B., and Gerald T. Hanson. Arkansas Geography: The Physical Landscape and the Historical-Cultural Setting . Little Rock: Rose Publishing Company, 1981.

Whayne, Jeannie, and Willard B. Gatewood, eds. The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1993.

Hubert B. Stroud Arkansas State University

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Natural Heritage Tourism and Outdoor Recreation in Mississippi Alluvial Plain Region

 birding and wildlife viewing.

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Bird Watching By: Jonny Anderson Bird watching continues to grow in popularity among folks of all ages.  The hobby—otherwise known as birding—is an excellent way to enjoy nature and become acquainted with all things winged.  

Tara Wildlife Doing Business as a Sustainable Recreation Destination By: K Gregg Elliott Renowned for its hunting, Tara Wildlife also offers birding, hiking and a well-equipped conference and recreation facility.  

The Mississippi Flyway The longest migration route of any in the Western Hemisphere lies in this flyway. It's northern terminus is on the Arctic coast of Alaska and its southern end in Patagonia.  

The Ecological Basis for the Conservation of Migratory Birds in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley By: Charles Baxter and Cynthia Brown and David Pashley In 1994, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) Migratory Bird Planning Group began to devise a conservation plan that integrates habitat objectives for three groups of bird species—wintering waterfowl, migratory shorebirds, and breeding and wintering forest birds.  

Bird Trails and Important Bird Areas By: K Gregg Elliott A Bird Trail is more than a trail in the literal sense.  It is a “necklace” of sites, usually linked by a physiographic feature such as a river, that are united by the theme of “great for bird watching!”  Birding Trails are essentially driving routes that help you get from one prime birding spot to the next.  

• Ecotourism (223)
• Guides Outfitters and Hunt Clubs (46)
• State and Federal Land (130)

Albemarle Plant Marsh Tours Albemarle Corporation - Magnolia, AR

Anedodi - Mountain Home, AR

Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission Toni Snow - Administrative Specialist - Little Rock, AR

Arrowhead Cabin & Canoe Rentals Inc. - Caddo Gap, AR

Baker Prairie Natural Area - Harrison, AR

Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Bald Knob, AR

Bayou Des Arc Wildlife Management Area - Griffithville, AR

Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area AR

Beard's Guide Service Dwayne Beard - Mountain Home, AR

Beaver Dam Store Spider Creek Resort - Eureka Springs, AR

Benson Creek Natural Area - Brinkley, AR

Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Manila, AR

Big Lake Wildlife Management Area - Blythevillle, AR

Big Timber Wildlife Management Area - gurdon, AR

Binks Guide Service Darrell Binkley - Norfork, AR

Blue Clouds RV & Cabin Resort - Edgemont, AR

Blue Sky RV Park - Mountain View, AR

Blue Waters Resort on Bull Shoals Lake Harold and Pam Malone - Owners - Protem, MO

Blytheville RV Park - Blytheville, AR

Brushy Creek Wildlife Management Area - Hickory Ridge, AR

Burns Park - Campground and RV Park North Little Rock Visitors Bureau - North Little Rock, AR

Byrd Lake Natural Area - Pine Bluff, AR

Cache River National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Augusta, AR

Cache River Natural Area - Augusta, AR

Caddo River Camping & Canoe Rental David and Gayla Claborn - Owner/Operator - Glenwood, AR

Camp Robinson Wildlife Management Area - Conway, AR

Cane Creek State Park - Star City, AR

Caney Creek Wildlife Management Area - Mena, AR

Casey Jones Wildlife Management Area - Warren, AR

Cattail Marsh Wildlife Management Area - Beech Grove, AR

Central Arkansas Fishing Guide Services, Inc. Bill Dennis - Little Rock, AR

Chalk Bluff Natural Area - Piggott, AR

Cherokee Lakes RV Park - Alexander, AR

Cherokee Wildlife Management Area - Cleveland, AR

Cloud Nine RV Park - Hot Springs, AR

Coffee Prairie Natural Area - Crossett, AR

Cossatot River RV Park-Cabins - Wickes, AR

Cossatot River State Park-Natural Area - Umpire, AR

Country Charm Log Cabins Jerry and Mari Allensworth - Innkeepers - Bismarck, AR

Country Living RV Park - El Dorado, AR

Crater of Diamonds State Park - Murfreesboro, AR

Crossett Experimental Forest Wildlife Management Area - Crossett, AR

Crowley's Ridge State Park - Paragould, AR

Crystal Springs Guide Service Buck Qualls - Guide - Royal, AR

Cut-off Creek Ravines Natural Area - Dermott, AR

Cypress Bayou WMA Wildlife Management Area - Ward, AR

Dagmar WMA Wildlife Management Area - Brinkley, AR

Daisy State Park - Kirby, AR

Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - St. Charles, AR

Dardanelle Wildlife Management Area - Russellville, AR

Dave Donaldson Black River WMA Wildlife Management Area - Knobel, AR

Davidsonville Historic State Park - Pocahontas, AR

DeGray Lake Resort State Park - Bismarck, AR

DeGray Lake Wildlife Management Area - Bismarck, AR

Delta Cultural Center - Helena, AR

Delta Heritage Trail State Park - Helena-West Helena, AR

Dennis Whiteside’s Fish & Game Guaranteed Guide Service Dennis Whiteside - Dover, AR

Departee Creek WMA Wildlife Management Area - Little Rock, AR

Devil's Den State Park - West Fork, AR

Dogwood Springs Campground Resort - Jasper, AR

Downs Prairie Natural Area - De Valls Bluff, AR

Downtown Riverside RV Park - North Little Rock, AR

Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois D’Arc Wildlife Management Area - Hope, AR

E & C Striper Guide Service Ed Chapko - Rogers, AR

Earl Buss Bayou DeView Wildlife Management Area - Weiner, AR

Ethel Wildlife Management Area - Ethel, AR

Fairfield Bay Marina - Fairfield Bay, AR

Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Crossett, AR

Forrest L. Wood Crowley's Ridge Nature Center Lee Elkins - Jonesboro, AR

Freddie Black Choctaw Island WMA Wildlife Management Area - Arkansas City, AR

Garrett Hollow Natural Area - Evansville, AR

Golden Pond Rv Park - Shirley, AR

Governor Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center Eric Maynard - Pine Bluff, AR

Governor Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center - Pine Bluff, AR

Green Tree Lodge & RV Park - Eureka Springs, AR

Hamilton Guide Service Hugh and Nancy - Garfield, AR

Harrison Village Campground and RV Park - Harrison, AR

Helena Outpost - Quapaw Canoe Co. John Ruskey - Founder - Helena, AR

Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA Wildlife Management Area - Bald Knob, AR

Historic Arkansas Museum - Little Rock, AR

Holland Bottoms Willow Oak Forest Preserve - Cabot, AR

Holloway Memorial Natural Area - Griffithville, AR

Hooks RV and Trout Resort - Mountain View, AR

Hope Fair Park RV Park - Hope, AR

Howard County Wildlife Management Area - Umpire, AR

Howard Hensley Searcy County Wildlife Management Area - Gilbert, AR

Iron Mountain Natural Area - Mena, AR

Jacksonport State Park - Newport, AR

Jamestown Independence County Wildlife Management Area - Batesville, AR

Jardis Point Day Use Recreation Area - Gillett, AR

Jim Kress Wildlife Management Area - Drasco, AR

Jones Point Wildlife Management Area - Yellville, AR

Kettle Campground, Cabins & RV Park - Eureka Springs, AR

KOA Eureka Springs - Eureka Springs, AR

KOA-North Little Rock - North Little Rock, AR

Konecny Grove Natural Area - Hazen, AR

Konecny Prairie Natural Area - Stuttgart, AR

Lafayette County Wildlife Management Area - Bradley, AR

Lake Catherine State Park - Hot Springs, AR

Lake Charles State Park - Powhatan, AR

Lake Chicot State Park - Lake Village, AR

Lake Dardanelle State Park - Russellville, AR

Lake Fort Smith State Park - Mountainburg, AR

Lake Frierson State Park - Jonesboro, AR

Lake Greeson Wildlife Management Area - NewHope, AR

Lake Ouachita State Park - Mountain Pine, AR

Lake Poinsett State Park - Harrisburg, AR

Lee County WMA Wildlife Management Area - Forrest City, AR

Lester Flatt Memorial RV Park - Otto, AR

Linger's Guide Service Jim Brentlinger - Norfork, AR

Little Bayou Wildlife Management Area - Montrose, AR

Little Fir Landing Lloyd and Chris Tubbs - Owners - Mount Ida, AR

Logoly State Park - Magnolia, AR

Longview Saline Natural Area - Fountain Hill, AR

Lorance Creek Natural Area - Little Rock, AR

Lost Bridge Marina - Garfield, AR

Louisiana Purchase Natural Area - Holly Grove, AR

Louisiana Purchase State Park - Brinkley, AR

Lutheran Camp on Petit Jean Mountain Rev. Chuck Johnson - Camp Director - Morrilton, AR

M & M Canoe Rentals - Pencil Bluff, AR

Mack's Pine's The Gamble Family - Dover, AR

Maumelle Campground - Little Rock, AR

Maumelle River Wildlife Management Area - Roland, AR

Memphis KOA - Marion, AR

Merrisach Lake Campground - Tichnor, AR

Mike Freeze Wattensaw Wildlife Management Area - Hazen, AR

Millwood Lake Guide Service - Texarkana, TX

Millwood State Park - Ashdown, AR

Mission RV Park Sandra & Gary Kelley - Owner/Managers - Russellville, AR

Mississippi River State Park - Marianna, AR

Moro Bay State Park - Jersey, AR

Mount Eagle Retreat Center Lu Harding - Director - Clinton, AR

Mount Magazine State Park - Paris, AR

Mount Nebo State Park - Dardanelle, AR

Murfreesboro RV Park Randy and Penny Lamb - Owners - Murfreesboro, AR

Museum of Arkansas Grand Prairie - Stuttgart, AR

National Park Aquarium - Hot Springs, AR

Nimrod Lloyd Millwood Wildlife Management Area - Plainview, AR

Notrebes Bend Park - Tichnor, AR

Oakland Inn, Marina & Ozark Isle Campgrounds - Oakland, AR

Oakland Park - Oakland, AR

Ouachita Kayak Tours - Story, AR

Ouachita National Forest - Hot Springs, AR

Overflow National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Parkdale, AR

Ozark Cabins & RV - Eureka Springs, AR

Ozark Natural Science Center - Huntsville, AR

Parker Pioneer Homestead Phil and Teressa Parker - Harrisburg, AR

Pecan Grove RV Park - Lake Village, AR

Pendleton Bend - Dumas, AR

Petit Jean State Park - Morrilton, AR

Pine City Natural Area - Holly Grove, AR

Piney Creeks Wildlife Management Area - Lamar, AR

Plantation Agricultural Museum Ben Swadley - Scott, AR

Prairie Bayou WMA Wildlife Management Area - Carlisle Township, AR

Provo Wildlife Management Area - Lockesburg, AR

Pulaski Game and Fish Museum - Little Rock, AR

Queen Wilhelmina State Park - Mena, AR

Railroad Prairie Natural Area - Carlisle, AR

Rainey Wildlife Management Area - Jerusalem, AR

Rex Hancock Black Swamp WMA Wildlife Management AreaAR

Riley's Station: Outfitter & Hide-away Miles and Michelle Riley - Mountain Home, AR

Rimrock Cove Ranch Toni and Dennis Albers - Green Forest, AR

Ring Slough WMA Wildlife Management Area - Corning, AR

Rising Star Campground - Pine Bluff, AR

River Bend Wildlife Management Area - Perry, AR

River View Cabins & Canoes - Oden, AR

Robert L. Hankins Mud Creek Upland WMA Wildlife Management Area - Warm Spring, AR

Roth Prairie Natural Area - Stuttgart, AR

Sainte Marie Park - Pine Bluff, AR

Seven Devils Swamp Natural Area - Dermott, AR

Shadow Mountain RV Park and Campground - Mena, AR

Shady Oaks Campground& RV Park Terri Cochrane - Campground Owner - Harrison, AR

Shady Oaks Resort & Outdoor Outfitters - Bull Shoals, AR

Shelton's Big Flat Getaway - Big Flat, AR

Shirey Bay Rainey Brake Wildlife Management Area - Alicia, AR

Singer Forest Natural Area - Marked Tree, AR

Smoke Hole Natural Area - Carlisle, AR

Southfork Resort - Mammoth Spring, AR

Speedway RV Park Larry and Kathy Altom - Owners - Batesville, AR

Spider Creek Resort - Eureka Springs, AR

Spring Bank Wildlife Management Area - doddridge, AR

St. Francis National Forest - Russellville, AR

St. Francis Sunken Lands Natural Area - Lake City, AR

Stateline Sand Ponds Natural Area - Corning, AR

Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms Wildife Management Area - Griffithville, AR

Steve's Guide Service - Mountain Home, AR

STR Outfitters Tom Reynolds - Mountain Home, AR

Striplin Woods Natural Area - St Charles, AR

Subiaco Abbey and Academy Mel Stinson and Butch Geels - Subiaco, AR

Sulphur River Wildlife Management Area - Doddridge, AR

Swifton Sand Ponds Natural Area - Swifton, AR

Sylamore Creek Camp & Cabins - Mountain View, AR

Sylamore Wildlife Management Area - Norfork, AR

Tall Tales Guide Service David Brown - Eureka Springs, AR

Tar Camp Park - Pine Bluff, AR

Taylor Woodlands Natural Area - Pine Bluff, AR

The Ozark Angler (Heber Springs) - Heber Springs, AR

The Ozark Folk Center State Park - Mountain View, AR

The University of Arkansas Pine Tree Experimental Station Wildlife Demonstration Area AR

Toad's Mean Green RV Park - Bee Branch, AR

Tolliver's Trout Fishing Outfitters Johnny & Robin Tolliver - Cotter, AR

Tom Sawyer's Mississippi River RV Park - West Memphis, AR

Trusten Holder WMA Wildlife Management Area - Tichnor, AR

Turner Bend Outfitter - Ozark, AR

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge Tanya Smith - President - Eureka Springs, AR

Two Bayou Creek Wildlife Management Area - Camden, AR

Village Creek State Park - Wynne, AR

W.E. Brewer Scatter Creek Wildlife Management Area AR

Wagon Circle RV Park Jim and Anne Bechdoldt - Heber Springs, AR

Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Turrell, AR

Warren Prairie Natural Area - Wilmar, AR

Wayne Crumpton Professional Fishing Guide Service Wayne Crumpton - Royal, AR

Wegner Crystal Mines Richard Wegner - Mount Ida, AR

White Oak Lake State Park - Bluff City, AR

Whitehall Wildlife Management Area AR

Wilbur D. Mills Campground - Dumas, AR

Wilderness Hills RV Park & Campground - Gentry, AR

Willow Beach Campground - Pine Bluff, AR

Withrow Springs State Park - Huntsville, AR

Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center - Little Rock, AR

Wolfpen ATV Campground & Cabins Inc. - Mena, AR

Woolly Hollow State Park - Greenbrier, AR

Beaver Dam Duck Hunts Steve 'Burly' Johnson - Pocahontas, AR

Belle Gulley Duck Lodge Sandra and Marty Austin - Tichnor, AR

Big Creek Waterfowl Club - Wheatley, AR

Big Cyprus Duck Cabin - Hoxie, AR

Big Lake Guide Service Chris Crosskno - Blytheville, AR

Black River Lodge Duck Hunting John Hastings - Reyno, AR

Buffalo River Outfitters - St. Joe, AR

Casscoe Quail Hunting Club - Stuttgart, AR

Charlie Willett Guide Service - Gassville, AR

Duck Guides Inc. - Dewitt, AR

Fishing with Tammy Guide Service Dustin Holmes - Kirby, AR

Fly Fish Arkansas Jimmy T' Traylor - Bull Shoals, AR

Flying Feathers Guide Service - Wabbaseka, AR

Hotdawg Guide Service Tim 'Hotdawg' Curtis - Bull Shoals, AR

Hunting Lease Network Troy Langan - Manager - Omaha, NE

Pluck-A-Duck Duck and Goose Lodge - Wynne, AR

Quack Attack Guide Service B J West - Almyra, AR

Ryder’s Run Guide Service - Pangburn, AR

Shur-A-Shot Guide Service - Heth, AR

Spring River Flies and Guides Mark Crawford - Mammoth Spring, AR

Stone's Guide Service Phillip Stone - Harrison, AR

The Ozark Angler (Little Rock Location) - Little Rock, AR

Trimble's Guide Service Jonce and Nancy Trimble - Flippin, AR

White River Fishing Guides - Gassville, AR

Wildlife Farms - Casscoe, AR

Woody's Guided Hunts - Walnut Ridge, AR

Conway Cemetery State Park Arkansas State Parks - Little Rock, AR

Herman Davis State Park Arkansas State Parks - Manila, AR

Historic Washington State Park - Washington, AR

Jenkins Ferry Battleground State Park Arkansas State Parks - Leola, AR

Lower White River Museum State Park - Des Arc, AR

Mammoth Spring State Park - Mammoth Spring, AR

Michael Hart LandVest, Inc. - Senior Appraiser - Boston, MA

Ozark Folk Center State Park - Mountain View, AR

Parkin Archeological State Park - Parkin, AR

Pinnacle Mountain State Park - Little Rock, AR

Plantation Agriculture Museum - Scott, AR

Poison Springs Battleground State Park - Camden, AR

Powhatan Historic State Park - Powhatan, AR

Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park Arkansas State Parks - Prairie Grove, AR

South Arkansas Arboretum Arkansas State Park - El Dorado, AR

Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park Arkansas State Parks - Scott, AR

 Hunting and Sport Fishing

Conservation's Latest Problem? Not Enough Hunters By: NPR's Skunk Bear No matter how you feel about hunting, it provides a lot of funding for state wildlife agencies. Now, fewer Americans are hunting, and that system is breaking down.  

Find a National Forest in the South The Southern Region covers thirteen states--a vast area stretching from Texas on the western side, Virginia on the north, and down to Puerto Rico on the south. You'll find a wide variety of forest environments, including the only tropical forest (El Yunque) in the agency. Find a forest nearest you!  

Fee Fishing - An Introduction By: Charles E. Cichra, Michael P. Masser and Ronnie J. Gilbert The basic types of operations and associated business considerations. A list of all Southern Regional Aquaculture Center factsheets (more than 150) are available at https://srac.t ...  

Fee Fishing - Location, Site Development and Other Considerations By: Charles E. Cichra, Michael P. Masser and Ronnie J. Gilbert Discusses clientele, permitting, advertising, location, design and security, water source, concessions, time of operations, signs, and safety and liability.& ...  

The Ultimate Food Plot By: Food Plot One of the first things that every fledgling wildlife manager learns is that nutrition is the key to attracting and keeping big bucks. The second thing they learn is how expensive it is to grow good food plots.  

Preparing Deer Hunting Spring Food Plots For Big Bucks By: Deer Hunting Big Bucks There are many things you can do to get your property ready for planting those food plots.If you are someone who is serious about deer hunting big bucks, I wanted to outline some of the things you need to think about when preparing and planting your food plots.  

Arkansas Hunting Guidebook, 2015-16 By: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission This publication is an interpretive summary of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s hunting regulations and covers only the regulations that most commonly affect hunters.  

Abundance and Distribution of Fishes in Riparian Wetlands of the Arkansas River By: S. Reid Adams, Bradley S. Williams, Matt D. Schroeder, and Robert L. Clark University of Central Arkansas Department of Biology Relatively little information exists on fish abundance and distribution in riparian wetlands of the Arkansas River, ranging from contiguous backwaters to intermittently connected and isolated floodplain wetlands.  

Arkansas Ozarks Fisheries - a Summary Mountain Home, Arkansas is located in the center of some of the best and most diverse fishing in the nation. Mountain Home, and the near-by city of Bull Shoals, are in the center of the Arkansas Ozarks.  

AGFC Beginner's Fishing Guide There’s nothing better than a lazy afternoon on the bank of your favorite fishing hole, dreaming about a lunker that’s about to make your bobber disappear.  

Arkansas Trout Fishing Guidebook This guide by Arkansas Fish & Game Commission contains everything a trout fisher needs to plan a fishing trip: licensing & permits, reguations, Arkansas trout and areas to find them.  

A Guide to Successful Wildlife Food Plots - Blending Science with Common Sense By: Craig A. Harper This publication provides technical guidance and practical information for wildlife management beyond planting and managing food plots.  ...  

Managing Wild Pigs, a Technical Guide By: Ben C. West, Andrea L. Cooper, and James B. Armstrong This 40-page document provides detailed information on the biology of wild pigs, how to recognize their presence, the type of damage they can cause to agriculture and natural areas and a wide range of management techniques, including hunting.  

Hunters - A Force for Conservation By: Breana Behrens Hunting seasons are starting to open, making this a great time to commemorate the important role that hunters play in habitat conservation.  

• Land Leasing (16)
• Lodges and Ranches (10)

American Hunting Lease Association Steve Meng - President - Fishers, IN

Base Camp Leasing Steve Meng - President - Fishers, IN

Cain Planting Company Hunt Ark Duck - McCrory, AR

Evr-green Management Group, Inc Matt S. Campbell - President - Rome, GA

Hull Forest Products - Pomfret Center, CT

Hunting Land Advisors Stephen Ruckman - Founder - Mount Washington, KY

Hunting Sports Plus Daryl Traylor - Blue Springs, MO

LandTrust - Bozeman, MT

Resource Analytical & Management Group, LLC Billy K. Lemons - President & Principal Consultant - Nacogdoches, TX

Ricky ONeill Neeley Forestry Service, Inc. - Certified Wildlife Biologist and Certified Forester - Camden, AR

Robert C. Crane Woodland Management Service - Consulting Forester - Stevens Point, WI

Weyerhaeuser Outdoor Recreation Leases Southern Region - Madison, MS

Weyerhaeuser Outdoor Recreation Leases - Madison, GA

Weyerhaeuser Outdoor Recreational Leases - Arkansas-Oklahoma-Texas John Drake - Broken Bow, OK

Weyerhaeuser Outdoor Recreational Leases - Gulf Region - Natchitoches, LA

Black Dog Hunting Club Todd & Gwen Brittain - Stuttgart, AR

Five Oaks Duck Lodge - Humphrey, AR

Lindsey's Resort on the Little Red River - Heber Springs, AR

Paradise Wings Lodge - Brinkley, AR

 Nature-Based Tourism

National Wildlife Refuge System - National Wildlife Refuge Locator Find a Refuge Near You  Nearly 46 million people visit national wildlife refuges each year. Visitors and local communities recognize refuges as national treasures: Wildlife refuges are home to more than 700 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 reptile and amphibian species and more than 200 species of fish. Fifty-nine refuges have been established with a primary purpose of conserving threatened or endangered species. 280 of the 1,200-plus federally-listed threatened or endangered species in the U.S. are found on units of the Refuge System.    

Decontamination Documentation for Cavers By: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) strongly recommends, first and foremost, compliance with all cave closures, advisories, and regulations in all Federal, State,Tribal, and private lands.  

What is Natural Heritage Tourism Natural heritage tourism (or geotourism as defined by National Geographic) is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.  

Arkansas Bluegrass Festivals At least one of the birth places of bluegrass is the Ozark Mountains, thus it’s fitting that Arkansas has a slew of annual bluegrass f ...  

Arkansas Blues Festivals Arkansas lays at least partial claim to birthplace of bluegrass, but also the blues.  Here is a sampling of some great blues festivals in the Diamond State.  

Rural Bounty Explore North America's Rural Bounty Discover the rich bounty of farm fresh fruits and vegetables, outdoor activities, and family fun that our rural countryside has to offer! Daytrip or Vacation to a Farm or Ranch Pick Your Own-Fruits, Pumpkins, Trees Discover Charming Countryside Wineries Challenge Your Hunting & Outdoor Skills In the U.S. and Canada, there are approximately 65,000 farms and ranches that invite the public to visit, and more and more are becoming members on the Rural Bounty website. We invite you to come back often to plan relaxing day trips, or weeks away, enjoying the Rural Bounty of North America.  Visit website »    

Buck Island, a Newly Conserved Mississippi River Destination Near Helena, Arkansas The first leg of a new Lower Mississippi River Water Trail has been established through the conservation of Buck Island near Helena, Arkansas, thanks to the efforts of the American Land Conservancy (ALC), the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and other partners.  

• Agritourism (55)
• Campgrounds (123)
• Landscape Architects / Land Planning (4)

A & B Berry Farm Anna and Bill Lewis - Prattsville, AR

ArkansasGrown.org Arkansas Department of Agriculture - Little Rock, AR

Ashley's Blueberries Ross or Roslyn Ashley - Eureka Springs, AR

Barnhill Orchards Bob Barnhill - Lonoke, AR

Bassham Orchard Robert or Jo Ann Bassham - Wynne, AR

Berries by Bill Bill Landreth - Newport, AR

Bewley's Peach Orchard Robert Bewley - Dover, AR

Bluebird Hill Berry Farm Jerry or Jeaneane Markham - Atkins, AR

BoBrook Farms - Roland, AR

Bradbury Christmas Tree Farm Rickey Bradbury - Mabelvale, AR

Carter Farms Johnny Wayne Carter - Cave City, AR

Cathy's Orchard Cathy Hood - Mt. Vernon, AR

Cedar Rock Acres Bill or Audre Sturtevant - Cleveland, AR

Cline Berry Farm George Cline - Harrison, AR

Collins Round Mountain Orchard Racy Garis - Conway, AR

Drewry Farm and Orchard Kenny and Nancy Drewry - Dover, AR

Dripping Springs Garden Mark Cain and Michael Crane - Huntsville, AR

Far Ames Orchard Guy K. Ames - Fayetteville, AR

Fiegel's Fish and Fowl Ranch Don Fiegel - Ward, AR

Foshee Pecan Farm Paul Foshee - Atkins, AR

Frogmore Plantation & Gins - Frogmore, LA

Hillcrest Farmers Market - Little Rock, AR

Holiday Forest Jim Geisler - Little Rock, AR

Jackson Enterprises Marrice Jackson - Ward, AR

Jamison Farm Joey Jamison - Nashville, AR

Knoxville Berry Farm - Knoxville, AR

Kyzer Plant Farm Jane Reynolds, Elaine Scudder - Jacksonville, AR

Little Buffalo Blueberry Jack and Barbara Vasluski - Parthenon, AR

Luckett-Bell Inc. Chase Bell - DeWitt, AR

McAlpine Christmas Tree Farm Harold McAlpine - Bismarck, AR

Motley's Tree Farm - Little Rock, AR

Motleys Tree Farm Randy Motley - Little Rock, AR

Mount Bethel Winery Peggy Post - Altus, AR

Mountain Home Berry Farm Joe or Mary Smith - Mountain Home, AR

Nixon Flower Farm Dana Daniels Nixon - Jacksonville, AR

Old Milo Tree Farms & Pumpkin Patch - Hamburg, AR

Peach Pickin' Paradise Steve Morgan - Clarksville, AR

Peebles Farms Dallas and Shawn Peebles - Augusta, AR

Pine Grove Christmas Tree Farms - Charleston, AR

Post Familie Vineyards Paul Post - Altus, AR

Pumpkin Hollow - Piggott, AR

Renee's Berry Garden Pat Ford - London, AR

Roberson Orchards & Farm Market Jim Roberson - Omaha, AR

Romance Christmas Tree Farm - Romance, AR

Schaefers & Collins Produce Farm Lisa Schaefers - Mayflower, AR

Schilling's Christmas Tree Farm Joe Schilling - Lonoke, AR

Shawbridge Orchards Bill Wilson - Greenbrier, AR

Southwind Outdoors - Little Rock, AR

Spradley Berry Farm Ples Spradley - Lonoke, AR

Suzanne's Fruit Farm David and Sylvia Reddin - Hampton, AR

The Blueberry Barn Drake Farms - Rogers, AR

The Bradbury Tree Farm Rickey Bradbury - Mabelvale, AR

Tidwell Christmas Tree Farm John Tidwell - Fordyce, AR

Twin Oaks Peach Farm Robert A. Allured - Alma, AR

Wiederkehr Wine Cellars Dennis Wiederkehr - Wiederkehr Village, AR

Barnes RV Park - Bald Knob, AR

Delta Ridge RV Park, Inc. - Forrest City, AR

Jefferson Ridge Campground and Camping - Dierks, AR

Mill Pond Village RV Park - Hot Springs, AR

Red River RV Park Cody Louks - Judsonia, AR

Rich Mountain Country Store, Cafe & RV Park - Mena, AR

Riverfront RV Park - Clarendon, AR

Tugboat's Place RV Park - Huntsville, AR

EnSafe - Memphis, TN

Pickering Environmental Consultants, Inc. - Memphis, TN

PPM Consultants - Monroe, LA

Stork Landscaping, LLC Brent Brune - Owner - Cape Girardeau, MO

 Outdoor Recreation

Spelunking in the Ozark Karst The Ozark Mountains, within both Arkansas and Missouri, are characterized by karst.  As a consequence of its karst formations, the state of Arkansas boasts a variety of limestone caves, subterranean streams, and mazes, with crystals, stalagmites, stalactites, and rare creatures exquisitely adapted to life in the cool, dark, moist underground.& ...  

Quapaw Canoe Company in Helena offers canoe excursions on the "Mighty Mississippi" Watch this video about canoe trips on the Mississippi River near Helena offered by the Quapaw Canoe Company.  

Methyl Mercury in Sportfish - Information for Fish Consumers Methylmercury is a form of mercury that is found in most freshwater and saltwater fish. In some lakes, rivers, and coastal waters in California, methylmercury has been found in some types of fish at concentrations that may be harmful to human health.  

Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley

The Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley is the nation’s largest floodplain, covering more than 24 million acres across portions Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. Bottomland hardwood forests provide a number of ecosystem services, including water quality protection, carbon sequestration and economic benefits. The region is considered the heart of the Mississippi Flyway, where more than 40 percent of North America’s waterfowl and 60 percent of all U.S. bird species migrate or winter, and more than 100 land birds breed. 

The Mississippi River and its side channels, tributaries, oxbows and backwaters support at least 90 fish species and approximately 50 freshwater mussel species. Its rich, alluvial soils support one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world, producing cotton, soybeans, corn and rice. The region’s forests produce over 375 million cubic feet of timber, valued at $290 million in annual revenues. Outdoor recreation, including hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing is estimated to generate more than $1.3 billion annually. 

Over the last thirty plus years, large-scale land use changes and human modifications to land and water resources have contributed to Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley habitat loss and degradation, collectively impairing forest health, water quality and wildlife populations. Extreme shifts in weather patterns, including larger, more frequent flooding events, followed by extended periods of drought complicate restoration efforts.  

Conservation Needs & Strategies

NFWF’s Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Business Plan addresses the bottomland hardwood forests, wetlands and freshwater habitats, and associated species within the Lower Mississippi.

Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Restoration F...

The Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund invests in on-the-ground projects to restore, enhance and conserve bottomland hardwood forest and wetland habitats to benefit wildlife and improve water quality within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley region of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.

Related Programs

Home » Regions » North America » Eastern Temperate Forests » Mississippi Alluvial & Southeast USA Coastal Plains

Mississippi Alluvial & Southeast USA Coastal Plains

• Legend / List

To check where a specific point lies, you can look it up in our Ecoregion Locator .

↑ Map Legend & Subregion List

This list will help you navigate the regions in case you have problems with viewing or clicking the interactive map above.

† Status: ✓ = Complete ○ = Needs Image … = Incomplete ∅ = Stub Only

‡ This code refers to the CEC's Level 3 ecoregion codes for North America, see here .

↑ Progress

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↑ About the Mississippi Alluvial & Southeast USA Coastal Plains

Iowa BBA II

• Mississippi Alluvial Plain

Bruce Ehresman

Iowa Landforms

• Introduction
• Land and Climate
• Northwest Iowa Plains
• Des Moines Lobe
• Iowan Surface
• Paleozoic Plateau
• Southern Iowa Drift Plain
• Loess Hills
• Missouri Alluvial
• Literature Cited

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain sits beside the eastern edge of the Southern Iowa Drift Plain and represents the broad lowlands of the Mississippi River. It was formed from glacial meltwater from tens to hundreds of thousands of years ago, when rivers carved valleys and partially filled them with layered deposits of gravel, sand, silt, and clay. Parts of this region, like Big Sand Mounds Nature Preserve in Louisa County, contain areas of deep sandy deposits that were created by flowing streams and strong blowing winds. While the Mississippi River forms the east boundary, lower portions of the Cedar and Iowa rivers are the two main watersheds that flow through this region and continue to influence landscape water levels and vegetation. While this region historically primarily was floodplain forest, the local hydrology has been severely changed through drainage of inland tributaries and wetlands and by the establishment of the lock-and-dam system of the Mississippi River. Row-crop agriculture is now predominant on most of the floodplain. Wooded areas remaining are largely confined to corridors adjacent to streams and rivers and on upland areas, such as those containing sedimentary rock outcroppings that remain from a much earlier period of time. Especially in the sandy uplands, a few native prairie remnants (like Shield Prairie) survive in this region, as well.

Fortunately, many sizable publicly-owned wetland complexes are in place along all three rivers. Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Odessa, Wiese Slough, Cone Marsh, Red Cedar Wildlife Area, Saulsbury Bridge Recreation Area, and Blackhawk Bottoms all are good examples of areas that provide excellent bird habitat. Rarer bottomland forest and riparian corridor birds that nest here include Red-shouldered Hawk, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Black-billed Cuckoo, and Brown Creeper; and some of the highest nesting densities of Bald Eagle in the state occur in these bottomlands. All Iowa nesting woodpeckers and vireos occur here, and the vast majority of Eurasian Tree Sparrows that nest in the state are found in this region. There also exists a growing population of Blue Grosbeaks and Sandhill Cranes. Especially in northern portions of this region, American Bittern, Least Bittern, King Rail, Virginia Rail, Sora, and Common Gallinule all are found during the nesting season.

BBA Partners

• © 2020 Iowa Ornithologists' Union. All rights reserved. Version 2.0
• BBA II logo by Chris Caster
• Spawned by AJ Endeavors, LLC

• EO Explorer

• Global Maps

Forests of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain

May 4, 2014 JPEG

The expansive Mississippi Alluvial Plain spreads from the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in southern Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Developed over tens of thousands of years by the river’s meanders, the plain once contained the largest forested wetland ecosystem in North America. However, the fertile soils deposited by the Mississippi have proven so attractive to farmers that its forests have undergone a dramatic transformation over the last three hundred years.

By 1950, only about 9 million acres (4 million hectares) remained of what had been 22 million acres of forest. Over the next few decades, conversion to agriculture continued at a rapid pace. Today, approximately 20 percent of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain’s original forests remain, having been replaced by fields of soybeans, corn, cotton, and rice.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image of the plain on May 4, 2014. With warmer weather greening the forests throughout the region, the tan farmland within the alluvial plain stands out.

NASA images courtesy of the LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response team. Caption by Adam Voiland.

View this area in EO Explorer

Though it was once the largest forested wetland in North America, only a few forests remain. The rest have been converted into farmland.

Image of the Day for May 18, 2014

Image of the Day Land

View more Images of the Day:

References & Resources

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Accessed May 16, 2014.
• Encyclopedia of Arkansas Crowley's Ridge. Accessed May 16, 2014.
• Environmental Protection Agency Ecoregions of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Accessed May 16, 2014.
• Landscope America Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Ecoregion. Accessed May 16, 2014.
• Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Accessed May 16, 2014.
• U.S. Geological Survey Contemporary Land Cover Change in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain Ecoregion. Accessed May 16, 2014.

You might also be interested in    ( view all )

Flooded rice fields in louisiana.

The low-lying alluvial plain of the Mississippi River Valley is home to much of the nation’s rice farms.

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

Floods in the U.S. Midwest

Flooding in arkansas and mississippi.

Flooding in early 2016 affected communities along the length of the Mississippi River; here is the view near Arkansas City.

Land Life Water Floods Human Presence

Winter Flooding on the Mississippi

Persistent rains and saturated soils across the watershed swelled the river to its banks and occasionally onto floodplains.

Image of the Day Water Floods Severe Storms

Arkansas and Mississippi Delta Heritage: Home

• Autobiographies
• Juvenile Books
• Museums & Historical Sites
• Historical Organizations
• Additional Resources

The Delta counties of Arkansas and Mississippi.

Arkansas and Mississippi Delta Heritage

What is the Delta?

The Delta is part of the alluvial plain of the Mississippi River. Alluvial plains are created by the deposit of sediment (like dirt or sand) by rivers. These plains are the flat land you see in river regions,including floodplains. The flat land of the Delta is also influenced by other streams and rivers, such as the Arkansas, St. Francis, White, and Yazoo Rivers. The downside of the Delta is that it is prone to flooding and poor drainage. The upside is that the Mississippi Alluvial Plain is one of the most "agriculturally productive regions in the world." 1

  Where is the Delta?

The Delta is an area of land located around the Mississippi River and includes portions of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The Arkansas Delta contains the entirety of 15 counties in Eastern Arkansas: Arkansas, Chicot, Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Greene, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, and St. Francis. It also includes parts of Ashley, Drew, Independence, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lincoln, Lonoke, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, White, and Woodruff counties. The Mississippi Delta (or Yazoo-Mississippi Delta) includes 14 counties in Western Mississippi: Bolivar, Carroll, Coahoma, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, Warren, and Washington. It also includes parts of De Soto, Grenada, Holmes, Panola, and Yazoo. In the Louisiana, the Delta includes 12 counties (called parishes in Louisiana): Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, Franklin, LaSalle, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas, and West Carroll.  

What makes the Delta unique?

The area is mostly rural with rich, fertile soil. Up to 60% of the Delta is used as farmland. Its fertile soil, temperate climate, and extended growing seasons produces much of the U.S.'s rice, soybeans, sugar cane, feed grains, and cotton. 2 The Mississippi portion of the Delta attracted many cotton plantation owners, bringing with them a large number of enslaved African Americans. After the Civil War, the area remained mostly underdeveloped with many African Americans turning to sharecropping in order to survive under the harsh realities of Jim Crow laws. This mixture of isolation, agriculture, poverty, and racial turmoil has created a unique culture that h istorian James C. Cobb has called the "most southern place on earth." 3 The most famous example of Delta culture is music. When enslaved people were brought from Africa, they brought their musical traditions with them. This music was later mixed with more popular and folk music, 4 creating new sounds to express the pain of the hardships they endured, leading to the birth of both the blues and rock and roll music.

To help you learn more about what makes the Delta unique, we have compiled resources together in this guide. Use the tabs at the top of the guide to navigate to different subjects and resource types.

1. Stroud, H. (2018). Mississippi Alluvial Plain.  https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/mississippi-alluvial-plain-444/

2. National Park Service. (2017) The Natural Environment: The Delta and Its Resources. https://www.nps.gov/locations/lowermsdeltaregion/the-natural-environment-the-delta-and-its-resources.htm.

3. Cobb, J. (1992) The most southern place on earth: The Mississippi Delta and the roots of regional identity . Oxford University Press.

4. Library of Congress. (1998). Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival: A Local Legacy. http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/ms/es_ms_blues_1.html.

Funding provided by:

The American Library Association

Carnegie-Whitney Grant Read more

Special thanks to Mary Sitzer for her research and assistance.

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• Last Updated: Apr 20, 2023 1:27 PM
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Mississippi Alluvial Plain: Regional Geophysical Survey

In 2017, the USGS Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) Regional Water Availability Study began an airborne geophysical mapping campaign to improve understanding of the geology and structure of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer. Two different airborne electromagnetic (AEM) platforms, the frequency-domain Resolve and time-domain Tempest, were flown by CGG Airborne. Regional surveys over the entire study area were acquired with both systems, providing multi-scale resolution of the aquifer system. In addition, a high-resolution inset grid was acquired near Shellmound, Mississippi.

View a detailed presentation of the Shellmound high-resolution inset grid and ground-based geophysical methods here. Explore the regional geophysical data collected to improve understanding of the geology and structure of the aquifer system.

Related Content

Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP): Water Availability Study

Mississippi alluvial plain (map): water use and availability program.

Data sources for the geonarrative.

Combined results and derivative products of hydrogeologic structure and properties from airborne electromagnetic surveys in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain

Airborne electromagnetic, magnetic, and radiometric survey of the mississippi alluvial plain, november 2019 - march 2020, airborne electromagnetic, magnetic, and radiometric survey of the mississippi alluvial plain, november 2018 - february 2019, airborne electromagnetic, magnetic, and radiometric survey, shellmound, mississippi, march 2018 (ver. 2.0, march 2024).

Somewhere In Arkansas

• Geology and Geography of Arkansas

The geography of Arkansas is both rich and diverse with mountains, river valleys, delta farm land, forests, swamps, lakes, rivers, and bayous.

The state is divided into different destination regions for tourism purposes, but from a scientific point of view there are considered to be 6 natural geographic regions in Arkansas. These are:

The Ozark Plateau

The arkansas river valley, the ouachita mountains, the gulf coastal plain, the mississippi alluvial plain.

• Crowley’s Ridge.

These natural systems are divided by things like geology, climate, general plant communities, animals, soil, and land use.

Here is some basic information about the geography of Arkansas and the natural systems of the state.

For tourism purposes the state is divided into regions by location. We have another post about the destination areas of Arkansas if you want to learn more about that.

Table of Contents

Geography of Arkansas

Northwest Arkansas contains the southern section of the Ozark Mountains. This area has flat topped mountains with steep sides and rocky valleys.

As you learn about the geography of Arkansas you might wonder why this mountainous area is called a plateau. This is because, in geological terms, the Ozark Mountains aren’t actually mountains. The deep valleys of the Ozarks were actually caused by erosion and the tops of the “mountains” are not only flat but approximately all the same height.

The Ozarks region of Arkansas is gorgeous with dense forests, stone crags, tall bluffs, stunning overlooks, clear springs, deep hollows, and running rivers.

However it was also a difficult region to farm and settle.

Even early native people tended to view the Ozarks as primarily their hunting territory. There were not many established native settlements here.

Hunting bands often found shelter in the many bluff caves that exist in the region. In fact, artifacts and petroglyphs can still be found in many of the overhanging bluffs in this area.

Later settlers were mostly “Americans” meaning they were second or third generation American-born people of northern European descent.

Settlers barely eked out a living in this heavily forested, steep, and rocky land. Cash crops were not very practical so settlers often turned their crops into moonshine and other products to make a living.

They hunted for meat, but were typically only able to farm enough food for subsistence for their own families.

The farms were far apart which resulted in an isolated way of life. These so called “hillbillies” of the past were characterized by a fierce independence, suspicion of strangers, resistance to authority, and a unique type of mountain music.

Today, those “difficult to farm” rocky hills and dense forests are attracting tourists, retirees, adventurers, and anyone who loves the outdoors.

One of the main tourist attractions in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas is the Buffalo National River . The river flows freely for 135 miles and is one of the few remaining un-dammed rivers in the lower 48 states. It is a popular place for kayaking, camping, and hiking.

In addition to tourism some of the largest companies in the US are located in the Ozark Plateau. Huge companies such as Walmart, JB Hunt, Tyson and others got their start here.

The quickly growing city corridor of Fayetteville, Bentonville, Springdale, and Rogers is located in the Ozarks Plateau as well as smaller tourist friendly towns like Eureka Springs, Ponca, and Mountain Home.

The Arkansas River Valley lies between the Ozark Mountains and the Ouachita Mountains. The geography of Arkansas in this region includes the fertile farmland alongside the river as well as a 40 mile wide swath of low rolling hills between the two mountain ranges.

Besides farmland, coal and natural gas resources are also found in this area.

Because this area is called a “valley” you might be surprised to learn that there are also mountains here. In fact, the highest peak in the state, Mount Magazine, is not found in the Ozark or Ouachita Mountains but in the Arkansas River Valley!

Mount Nebo , Petit Jean Mountain , and Mount Magazine together comprise the Tri-Peaks. These three mountains are flat topped mesas that rise steeply from the flat river valley land below.

All three mountains are now state parks and are very popular places for camping, hiking, and other forms of recreation.

The Arkansas River provided the earliest form of transportation within the state. People came through this area first by boats and then by stagecoach. With the advent of the steamboat farmers were able to transport their crops. At this point the small family farms began to consolidate into larger plots.

Some farmers even began to grow crops like tobacco and grapes for wine. Yes, there are wineries in this area which is unusual in such a warm climate.

Farming is still an important part of the economy of the Arkansas River Valley.

Small towns first began to develop along the river and then the stage line. Today, Interstate 40 runs through the valley connecting the cities of Ft. Smith, Clarksville, Ozark, Russellville, Morrilton, Conway, and Little Rock.

The two mountain systems in the geography of Arkansas are the Ouachitas and the Ozarks.

However, these two natural systems have very different geological histories. The Ouachita Mountains are more like wrinkles in the earth where tectonic plates were pushed together raising up the land. The Ozarks were carved by erosion.

This means that the Ouachitas are less flat topped than the Ozarks. The Ouachita Mountains tend to be long narrow ridges that run from east to west.

Even the soil is different. The Ouachitas are made up of sandstone and shale while the Ozarks are mostly limestone and dolomite.

In addition, the valleys in the Ouachitas are wider than those in the Ozarks with deeper and richer soil and more sunlight which meant that the land was much better for farming both by the original native people who lived in communities here and by later settlers.

This combination of more sunlight and sandy soil means that the Ouachita Mountains have the right conditions for more pine forests while the Ozarks have more hardwoods.

Where rocks are exposed in the two mountain ranges you can see that the Ozarks will typically have horizontal layers while in the Ouachitas the layers are slanted. Sometimes the rocks in the Ouachita mountains are so sharply slanted as to appear almost vertical.

Yes, there were definitely some aggressive geological processes that went on in this area many eons ago!

That same pressure that caused the cracked and sharply tilted mountains Ouachita Mountains also had a hand in creating some of the most fascinating geological phenomena in this area: the presence of hot springs, quartz crystals, and even diamonds.

You might know that the Crater of Diamonds State Park is a place where you can go and dig for actual diamonds and keep whatever you find. But were you aware that it sits in an actual ancient volcanic crater?

Eons ago instability in this same area caused a volcanic eruption that blew an 83-acre crater near the current town of Murfreesboro. This left diamonds near the surface of this soil where they can now occasionally found by visitors to the state park.

Today the Ouachita Mountain region is still important for tourism, timber and agriculture.

The Gulf Coastal Plain covers most of south Arkansas.

It might seem weird to label a part of the geography of Arkansas as a gulf coastal plain since Arkansas is a landlocked state. However, the Gulf Coastal Plain was once under the sea.

The water was shallow and had beds of mollusks leaving deposits of chalk. You will also find large deposits of sand, gravel, and clay in this area.

We know that after the waters receded dinosaurs roamed the area as their tracks and bones have been found here.

Once humans arrived they began farming this flat to slightly rolling land. The Caddo Indians lived in large farming settlements in this area. The first white settlers had small farms, but eventually there were larger land holders here.

Row crop farming is not nearly as important in this region today as it was in the past. Today, you will find beef, poultry and aquaculture farms in the area. In addition much of it this region is covered with managed pine forest and used for timber.

The main rivers in the Gulf Coastal Plain are the Ouachita, the Red River, and the Saline River. The Ouachita has moved back and forth enough to leave several lakes that are popular fishing sites.

This land also has fossil fuel. Oil was discovered here in the 1920’s. This created a few boom towns such as El Dorado which is still a major headquarters of the Murphy Oil Company.

Historic Washington State Park is a great place to visit in this geographical region of Arkansas in order to learn more about what life was like here in the past.

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain is more commonly known as the Delta. The Arkansas Delta encompasses the eastern part of the state all along the Mississippi River.

Due to its rich and fertile soil this is one the most productive agricultural regions in the world.

This area, like the Gulf Coastal Plain, was once covered by the ocean. As those waters receded they left sand, silt, and gravel and large rivers.

The flooding of the Mississippi River that used to happen regularly in this area deposited dark, rich soil in the Delta. The forest trees, especially Cypress trees, grew to enormous size.

The native residents of the region were known for building mounds many of which can still be seen. They had an extensive culture and traded with other groups. You can see some of the remnants of their culture at the Hampson Archeological State Park located in the historic town of Wilson .

The first white settlement in Arkansas was in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It is called the Arkansas Post and the location can seen at the Arkansas Post National Memorial.

As the cotton gin made cotton planting more profitable, large land owners moved in with slaves to tame the wilderness in the Delta and grow cotton. After the Civil War many of the former slaves remained in the area and become sharecroppers.

In addition to forests and farmland there were swamps in this Mississippi Alluvial Plain.

At first the swampland was not considered to be viable for food production. However, in the early 1900’s rice was introduced here and now Arkansas is the top producer of rice in the United States.

Unfortunately, in the early 1900’s the lumber industry also discovered the timberland of the Delta and clear cut entire old growth forests. This combined with the Great Depression and drought led to the suffering and poverty of the Dust Bowl era.

Sadly, about 90% of the forests were cleared and many of the original plants and animals that once thrived in the Delta are gone.

Due to the changing course of the Mississippi River, oxbow lakes are another important part of the character of the Delta. An oxbow lake is formed when a river changes course and leaves behind a bend (or oxbow) filled with water.

The largest oxbow lake in the US is Lake Chicot in the Arkansas Delta.

Today, the Delta is still the heart of Arkansas’ agricultural economy.

Crowley’s Ridge

Crowley’s ridge is the smallest of the natural divisions in Arkansas and one of the most interesting. It is the only division located within another division and is also one of the great geological oddities of the world.

The truth is that geologists don’t really know why Crowley’s Ridge exists.

Perhaps it was formed by a massive change in the Mississippi River, or perhaps it came from the folding of the earth’s crust. It seems that Crowley’s Ridge is still very, very gradually rising.

Crowley’s Ridge is in the Delta region of the state. It runs about 150 miles from southeastern Missouri to the city of Helena-West Helena but is only about half a mile to twenty miles wide. The top of the ridge is 200 to 250 feet higher than the flat Delta land which surrounds it. The slopes rise sharply making the ridge very visible as you approach through the Mississippi Alluvial Plain.

Even the soil of Crowley’s ridge is different from the rich Delta soil. The ridge is topped with a wind blown dust called loess. This blanket of loess on Crowley’s Ridge is up to 50 feet deep. However it is very fragile.

Loess is highly susceptible to erosion and mud slides and can’t support the type of farming that was used in the Delta land below.

Because the ridge, unlike the rest of the Delta, was not prone to flooding farmers would often build their homes here. It also became the roadway for travelers as it helped them to avoid the mud, floods, and mosquitoes of the Delta.

The cities of Jonesboro, Paragould, Forest City, and Helena-West Helena are part of Crowley’s Ridge.

I hope that you have enjoyed learning more about the geography of Arkansas.

Just so you know…I am not a scientist by any stretch of the imagination, just a researcher who loves my home state of Arkansas.

If you are interesting in learning more about the geography of Arkansas here are some sites you can check out:

• Arkansas Quartz Crystals
• Regions and landforms in Arkansas
• Why are there diamonds in Arkansas
• Arkansas Geological Survey

Thanks for stopping by.

Hey y'all! Thanks for stopping by.

We are Karen and Emily, a mother and daughter duo who write this blog together. We are based in Central Arkansas but love to travel all around our beautiful home state and share our discoveries with you!

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Famous for its bluegrass music, magnolias, and southern charm, the state of Mississippi is located in the Deep South region of the United States . It contains 231 named mountains, the highest of which is Woodall Mountain (804ft/245m) and the most prominent of which is Lebanon Mountain (791ft/241m).

Appalachian Foothills

Black prairie, red clay hills, piney woods, southeastern mixed forests/southeastern plain, mississippi valley loess plains, mississippi alluvial plain, human history, main hiking areas, holly springs national forest, bienville national forest, de soto national forest, delta national forest, major cities.

The state of Mississippi is located in the southeastern United States , in a region known as the Deep South. It shares a border with 4 other states - Louisiana , Arkansas , Tennessee , and Alabama - and it has a small amount of coastline along the Gulf of Mexico.

With a total area of 48,430 square miles (125,443 sq. km) and a water area of 1,521 square miles (3,940 sq. km), the state of Mississippi is the 32nd largest state in the country by area. Mississippi is also the 34th most populous state and the 32nd most densely populated.

However, it is generally ranked quiet poorly in terms of median household income. Mississippi generally trails closely behind its neighboring states of Louisiana and Arkansas in terms of median household income, though it competes with West Virginia for the bottom spot in the annual median household income rankings.

The geography of the state of Mississippi can be characterized in a number of different ways based on cultural, political, geological, and historical boundaries. That being said, perhaps one of the best ways to characterize the state is by cultural region. There are 6 primary cultural regions within the state: the Delta, the Piney Woods, the Red Clay Hills, the Appalachian Foothills, the Black Prairie, and the Gulf Coast.

Nestled in the northernmost part of Mississippi, the Appalachian Foothills region is, indeed, home to some of the Appalachian Mountains . This area is dominated by a series of plateaus, which are part of the Cumberland Plateau of the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic region.

Culturally, this part of Mississippi has more in common with the central part of Tennessee and the states to the north than to other parts of the Deep South. Due to the region’s poor soils, agriculture is limited, though it has a fairly strong industrial economy.

Perhaps the most famous person from the Appalachian Foothills is the singer Elvis Presely, who was born in the city of Tupelo in Lee County in 1935.

In the Appalachian Foothills, you can find a few smaller parks, including:

• Tishomingo State Park
• J.P. Coleman State Park
• Tombigbee State Park

The Black Prairie region surrounds the Appalachian Foothills on all sides and it includes the city of Columbus. Similar to the Black Belt Region of Alabama , the name “Black Prairie” is a reference to the region’s darkly colored soils.

These fertile soils helped to support the region’s very strong cotton industry in the Antebellum years as well as the establishment of many large slave-owning plantations. However, these days, cattle and soybeans are more commonly grown in the region.

Like the rest of Mississippi outside the Appalachian Foothills, the Black Prairie isn’t exactly known for its mountains. Though, it doesn have quite a few high points that are part of the Piedmont-Southeast Coast system. Moreover, it includes part of the Tombigbee National Forest .

Covering much of north-central Mississippi, the aptly named Red Clay Hills region is home to reddish-colored clay soils. Unlike the fertile Black Prairie to the east, the soils of the Red Clay Hills are not very conducive to agriculture, so plantations were few and far between in this region.

That being said, cattle and livestock raising, logging, and manufacturing are all big industries in this region. This part of the state extends as far south as the cities of Meridian and Jackson, the latter of which is the capital and largest city in Mississippi.

There are a handful of major public parks and forests in the Red Clay Hills, including:

• Lefleur’s Bluff State Park
• Holmes County State Park

Situated to the south of the Red Clay Hills, the Piney Woods Region includes nearly all of southern Mississippi except the very low-lying coastal area, which is part of the Gulf Coast Region. It is roughly bounded by I-10 to the south and I-20 to the north.

Major cities in this region include Hattiesburg and Natchez, though, like most of the state, there are some scattered hills which are part of the Piedmont-Southeast Coast . The Piney Woods have sandy soils which aren’t great for farming, so the region’s economy is more heavily dependent on timber and manufacturing.

The Piney Woods contain 2 of Mississippi’s national forests: Homochitto National Forest and De Soto National Forest .

Although it’s not a real delta, which is a sediment-filled wetland that forms near the mouth of a river, the Delta Region of Mississippi is located along the alluvial plain of the Mississippi River in the western part of the state. Thanks to the river’s propensity for flooding, the soils around the Delta are very nutrient rich, which helped to support the region’s cotton plantations before and after the Civil War.

Grenville and Vicksburg are both major cities within the region and the city of Memphis is located just to the north in Tennessee. Popular recreation and natural areas in the Delta Region include:

• Vicksburg National Military Park
• Panther Swamp National Wildlife Area
• Leroy Percy State Park

As the name suggests, the Gulf Coast Region of Mississippi is located along the state’s Gulf Coast. Like its neighboring Alabama , the state of Mississippi actually has very little coastline - just 44 miles (70.8km) - despite being located along the Gulf Coast. Therefore, Mississippi has the shortest coastline of any state located along the Gulf of Mexico.

However, the Gulf Coast was the first part of Mississippi that was visited by Europeans, who arrived in the late 17th century (though, of course, Indigenous peoples had long lived in the region before European colonization).

The major city within the Gulf Coast is Biloxi, which is named after the Biloxi peoples, who are part of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe . Here, the major industries are fishing, shipbuilding, and trade, thanks to its proximity to the mouth of the Mississippi River (in nearby New Orleans).

There are quite a few protected areas and parks within the Gulf Coast, thanks to the region’s fantastic ecological diversity. This includes:

• Ward Bayou Wildlife Management Area
• Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge
• Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge
• Black Creek Wilderness
• Shepard State Park
• Pascagoula River State Wildlife Management Area

Although most of Mississippi is low-lying terrain, there are some small hills scattered around the state, as well as some Appalachian Mountains summits in the state’s northeastern corner.

That being said, the vast majority of the state is part of the massive Gulf Coastal Plain, which covers a substantial part of Florida , Georgia , Alabama , Louisiana , coastal Texas , and the states of Tamaulipas , Veracruz , Tabasco , and Yucatán in Mexico .

For the most part, the state has some ancient igneous and metamorphic basement rocks that date back to the Precambrian, but these are particularly far below the surface. Above these basement rocks are layers of sedimentary rocks that date back to the Paleozoic, including various limestones and shales.

Above these layers of sedimentary rock lie thousands of feet of unconsolidated sediment, particularly around the Delta region of the state.

Natural resources in the state include oil and natural gas, most of which is drilled for in the southern part of the state. Mississippi also has a handful of refineries, which process the state’s oil production.

Major high points in the state include Woodall Mountain , Lebanon Mountain , Tippah Hills , Wicker Mountain , Bonds Mountain , and Kitchen Mountain .

The state of Mississippi is home to 3 major ecoregions, each of which has its own unique mix of flora and fauna. These include the Southeastern Mixed Forests (Southeastern Plain), the Mississippi Valley Loess Plains, and the Mississippi Alluvial Plain.

Covering much of eastern Mississippi, the Southeastern Mixed Forests (a.k.a. the Southeastern Plain) ecoregion contains some fantastically biodiverse freshwater ecosystems which are home to an abundance of gastropods.

This region is naturally forested, with stands of oak, hickory, and pine. However, European settlement of this area led to substantial deforestation in an attempt to start farming in the area. With that in mind, by the mid-1900s, much of the region’s farms were abandoned, so small portions of the forests have regrown. The Bienville National Forest is perhaps the best example of this ecoregion in Mississippi.

Located directly east of the Mississippi River and its floodplain, the Mississippi Valley Loess Plain is a long, thin ecoregion that starts in southwestern Kentucky and terminates in eastern Louisiana.

Before European settlement, the region was home to southern mixed forests of hickory, oak, shortleaf pine, and loblolly pine. But, agriculture is particularly dominant in this region, so the remaining forest is highly fragmented.

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain includes the land just west of the Mississippi Loess Valley along the floodplain of the Mississippi River. Within the state of Mississippi, this ecoregion is exclusively found in the Delta Region.

Interestingly, this ecoregion is home to the largest continuous wetland system in the continental United States and it is an incredibly important source of biodiversity. Naturally, this ecoregion includes a variety of different ecosystems, including swamps and marshes, but much of it has since been drained for agriculture or is currently threatened by agricultural run-off.

The natural vegetation cover throughout much of his region is oak, hickory, and pine forests, though it is now mostly used for cotton, rice, and soybean production.

The state of Mississippi has long been home to humans and it is considered the ancestral homelands of many Indigenous peoples. Among the most dominant tribes and nations in the region at the time of European contact include the ancestors of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians , the Quapaw Tribe , the Chickasaw Nation , the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe , and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians , among others.

Among the first Europeans to visit the region was likely Hernando de Soto of Spain who traveled throughout what is now the southeastern US in the 1540s. Early European settlement in modern-day Mississippi was mostly French as the region was included within the colony of New France.

One of the first European forts in the state was Fort Maurepas, which was built at the end of the 17th century under the orders of Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville. Some years later in 1716, the French established another Fort at modern-day Natchez, which later became an important trading post. Like other parts of coastal new France, the southern part of Mississippi became important within the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

After the Seven Years’ War, Mississippi became part of Spain, though it later traded hands and became a British Colony before being ceded to the United States after the American Revolutionary War.

Mississippi gained its statehood in 1817, but by that time, it had already become a popular destination for farmers and settlers who were attracted by the highly fertile land of the Delta. The population of the region grew dramatically and slavery was a major part of the region’s economy.

After the invention of the cotton gin, plantations grew drastically in size and slavery became even more important to kepe up with increasing demand for cotton. This also led to widespread violence between settlers and the Indigenous peoples of the region as settlers pushed the region’s major tribes off of their land, both before and after the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

Mississippi was one of the first states to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy during the Civil War. The state itself became an important battleground during the war due to the strategic importance of controlling the Mississippi River.

The Reconstruction years were a tumultuous time in Mississippi as the state tried to rebuild after the war. While many freedmen were able to start their own farms in the more rural parts of the state, Mississippi had a longstanding history of Jim Crow segregation and descrimination in the post-war years. Activists in Mississippi were also responsible for some of the major events of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-20th century.

One of the biggest cultural movements to come out of Mississippi in the early 20th century was music. Indeed, the development of jazz, blues, gospel, and rock and roll music is indebted to musicians who lived and worked in the state.

In more recent years, Mississippi’s economy has diversified quite a bit and it now relies on major industries, like entertainment, tourism, manufacturing, gambling, agriculture, and seafood production.

While Mississippi isn’t the most mountainous state in the US, it is home to some great outdoor recreation areas. Here are some of the best places to check out in the state.

Holly Springs National Forest is located in the northeastern part of the state near Tupelo. The forest contains 11 named mountains, the highest of which is Lindsey Mountain and the most prominent of which is Rook Hill .

It includes about 155,600 acres (629 sq. km) of land and is home to some fantastic loblolly and shortleaf pine forests. The forest is known for its beautiful hardwood swamps and great recreation opportunities, and it has a handful of popular trails, including the Chewalla Lake Trail and the Baker’s Pond Trail.

Situated in central Mississippi, the Bienville National Forest contains about 178,000 acres (720 sq. km) of land, most of which is forests of oak and pine. Bienville National Forest contains 7 named mountains, the highest and most prominent of which is Sherman Hill .

The forest is home to the Leaf and Strong Rivers, both of which offer great fishing and boating opportunities. In fact, there’s also a national recreation horse trail, the Shockalo Horse Trail, which offers great trail riding inside the forest.

De Soto National Forest is located in southern Mississippi and it is an important refuge for flora and fauna in the state. It contains 7 named mountains, the highest of which is Deadman Hill , and the most prominent of which is Taylor Hill .

The forest contains longleaf pine savannas, which support some rare wildlife species, including some cool carnivorous plants, such pitcher plants. De Soto is a popular destination for canoeing, hiking, camping, fishing, and birdwatching. The Black Creek Trail and the Tuxachanie Trail are both great hiking options to check out.

The Delta National Forest is a protected area in the Delta Region of Mississippi. It contains one of the few hardwood forests that remain in the Mississippi Delta Region and it is home to the country’s only bottomland hardwood national forest.

Delta is a great refuge for wildlife, particularly migratory waterfowl who pass through the region each year. There are plenty of hiking and camping areas for visitors to check out, too.

Need a place to stay during your trip to Mississippi? Here are some of the best cities to visit in the state.

Jackson is located in south-central Mississippi along the Pearl River. It is the capital and largest city in the state with over 160,000 residents. Jackson is a major commercial hub for the region and it is home to the busiest airport in the state.

Biloxi is a city in the Gulf Coast Region of Mississippi. It was once the third largest city in the state, but in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina its population dropped quite a bit. These days, it is a popular tourist attraction, in part because of its booming casino industry. The city also has an international airport and it is located along I-10.

The city of Tupelo is situated in the northeastern corner of Mississippi. Although it has just 38,000 residents, it is one of the largest cities in the state and it is a cultural hub of the region. Tupelo is best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley and it continues to have a bustling arts scene.

Explore Mississippi with the PeakVisor 3D Map and identify its summits .

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Mississippi Lowland Streams

The landscape of southeastern Missouri’s Bootheel has changed drastically, as cropland was made from the regions’ original swampland. The lowland rivers and streams have been altered, too.

The Mississippi Lowland Aquatic Faunal Region is quite distinct from other Missouri habitats. As with all other aquatic habitats, in order to grasp the characteristics of waterways, it helps to understand the lay of the land.

The Mississippi Lowland region of southeast Missouri is a broad, low plain of  alluvial soils  (soils composed of clay, sand, and gravel deposited by the river). Much of these lowlands is less than 300 feet above sea level; this contrasts greatly with the nearby Ozark highlands, which can be 1,400 or more feet above sea level. The lowland region is separated from the Ozarks by an abrupt change of elevation from 50 to 250 feet.

The general flatness of these lowlands is broken only by the  Benton Hills and Crowley’s Ridge , which extend in a curved line from the Mississippi River in northeastern Scott County southwestward to the St. Francis River in Dunklin County.

Bedrock is visible at the surface only along the Ozark edge and in a few places on Crowley’s Ridge; otherwise, the land is covered by hundreds of feet of alluvial soil deposited over millennia by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. In some places, the deposits are at least 2,700 feet deep.

Swampland Became Cropland

To understand the waterways of southeast Missouri, we need to look at the transformation of that region from swampland to cropland. Though it is still sometimes called “Swampeast Missouri,” not much is left of the Bootheel’s swampy presettlement landscape. Vast, sunny fields of cotton and other row crops now dominate the Bootheel.

Before settlement, the lowlands of Missouri’s Bootheel were covered by bald cypress swamps and sloughs interspersed with low, sandy ridges. The region was drained by streams that entered from the Ozarks to the north. Two of these, the Castor and Whitewater rivers, joined to form the Little River, which drained much of the interior of the lowlands. To the west, the lowlands were drained by the lower St. Francis, Black, and Little Black rivers.

In the past, almost all of the lowlands were covered by water during the wet seasons. Mississippi River floodwaters sometimes swept as far west as the St. Francis River.

But in the early 1900s, people began to clear and drain the swamps, and now the lowlands are one of the most intensively cultivated regions of Missouri.

• The Headwater Diversion Channel was built, which shunts the flow of the upper Castor and Whitewater rivers east into the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau. This disrupted the flow of the Little River.
• A complex network of ditches now drain the former swamplands of the Little River valley; these flow south into Big Lake, Arkansas.
• Many other drainage projects were implemented throughout the lowlands, and today only remnants of the once-extensive swamplands remain.

Aquatic Habitats in the Lowlands Today

The only extensive areas of natural swampland remaining in the lowlands are publicly owned:  Mingo Swamp, Otter Slough, Duck Creek,  and  Big Oak Tree State Park . Here, water levels fluctuate drastically on a seasonal basis, and current is absent. During low-water periods, the water is clear and is usually stained by tannins (organic materials that color the water brownish, like tea). The substrate is silt, often covered by leaves, sticks, and other organic debris. Woody plants include buttonbush, bald cypress, and swamp tupelo.

The principal, essentially natural streams remaining in this region are the  lower St. Francis, Black,  and  Little Black rivers . Water clarity varies from low to moderate, and substrates are usually silt or sand, and occasionally small gravel. Riffles are few or lacking; the stream channel is basically large pools with little or no current. There is generally little aquatic vegetation, though the banks are usually tree lined.

Much of the remaining stream habitat in the region consists of the approximately 1,200 miles of  drainage ditches . These ditches vary greatly in size, water clarity, current velocity, substrate type, and amount of aquatic vegetation. The ditches have well-sustained base flows because the deep sands and gravels underlying the region can store vast quantities of groundwater.

• The biggest ditches amount to small rivers, with nearly uniform depth and considerable current; there is little plant cover, though water willow often lines the shores.
• Some of the smaller ditches have no perceptible current, with silt and organic debris at the bottom, while others are fairly swift, with sand and small gravel on the bottom. The smaller ditches typically contain submerged aquatic plants, especially coontail, water milfoil, and various pondweeds. In the shallowest, slowest ditches, water primrose ( Ludwigia  sp.) is characteristic.

Plants and Animals

Compared to the flora and fauna in other parts of Missouri, those in the Bootheel are quite different. There are some 23 Missouri fish species that either confined to the lowlands or occur only occasionally elsewhere in Missouri. Many fishes of the Gulf Coastal Plain reach the northern limit of their range in the lowlands of southeastern Missouri.

The Mississippi Lowlands natural division includes the Bootheel and adjacent lowlands of southeastern Missouri, including all of Stoddard, Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Dunklin, and Pemiscot counties, and parts of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Wayne, Butler, and Ripley counties.

Key species

Related Habitats

Although some states border an ocean, and some have majestic mountains, Missouri boasts two major, world-class, continent-draining rivers.

Bottomland Forests

True bottomland forests occur on rich, deep soils in low places that are seasonally wet. Canopy trees are usually sycamore, pin oak, bur oak, silver maple, cottonwood, and black walnut.

Ozark Streams

The Ozark Aquatic Faunal Region lies mostly south of the Missouri River. Its streams are typically clear, cool, and fast-flowing, with high gradients and chert bottoms.

Stream Edges

Streams and rivers, of course, are aquatic habitats. But there are also distinct land habitats that occur along streams and rivers. Stream edge habitats include sandbars, gravel washes, and the banks of streams and rivers.

Wetlands are a transition zone between land and aquatic environments, and they protect the quality of both. A rich variety of plants and animals live in wetlands.

Aquatic Faunal Regions of Missouri

To understand fish and other aquatic organisms, learn about their basic distribution patterns within the state. Missouri’s four aquatic faunal regions provide a handy way of describing where aquatic animals live within our borders.