The Buttahatchee River is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Tombigbee River The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...

, about long, in northwestern

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and northeastern

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Via the Tombigbee River, it is part of the watershed of the

Mobile River The Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georg ...

, which flows to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

Course

The Buttahatchee River rises in northwestern

Winston County, Alabama Winston County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,540. Its county seat is Double Springs. Known as Hancock County before 1858, "ACES Winston County Office" (links/history), Alabama Coope ...

, near the town of Delmar, and flows generally westward through Marion County, where it collects a short tributary, the West Branch Buttahatchee River. At

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, the river turns to the southwest and flows through

Lamar County, Alabama Lamar County (formerly Jones County and Sanford County) is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,972. Its county seat is Vernon and it is a dry county. It is named in honor of Lucius Quintus Cinci ...

and

Monroe County, Mississippi Monroe County is a county on the northeast border of the U.S. state of Mississippi next to Alabama. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,989. Its county seat is Aberdeen. History The county is named in honor of James Monroe, the fift ...

; its lower reach is used to define part of the boundary between Monroe and Lowndes counties. The Buttahatchee joins the Tombigbee near

Columbus Air Force Base Columbus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Columbus, Mississippi. The host unit at Columbus AFB is the 14th Flying Training Wing (14 FTW), which is a part of Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The resident ...

, 12 mi (19 km) north-northwest of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

.Course info in part from: ''Alabama Atlas & Gazetteer,'' Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme, 1998 ; and ''Mississippi Atlas & Gazetteer,'' Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme, 1998

Name

The name "Buttahatchee" is

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

for "sumac river", from ''bati'', "

sumac Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...

", and ''hahcha'', "river". The

Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

settled on "Buttahatchee River" as the river's official name and spelling in 1947. According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

, the Buttahatchee River has also been known as:

References

{{authority control Rivers of Alabama Rivers of Mississippi Bodies of water of Lamar County, Alabama Landforms of Lowndes County, Mississippi Landforms of Monroe County, Mississippi Bodies of water of Marion County, Alabama Bodies of water of Winston County, Alabama Tributaries of the Tombigbee River Alabama placenames of Native American origin Mississippi placenames of Native American origin

Course

Name

See also

References