The Chickasawhay River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

, about long, in southeastern

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 ...

. It is a principal

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

Pascagoula River The Pascagoula River is a river, about 80 miles (130 km) long, in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. The river drains an area of about 8,800 square miles (23,000 km²) and flows into Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico. ...

, 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 ...

. The Chickasawhay's tributaries also drain a portion of western

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 ...

. The name "Chickasawhay" comes from the

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 ...

word ''chikashsha-ahi'', literally "Chickasaw potato".

Geology

The Chickasawhay River is known for its abundance of fossil deposits, placed over a period of 35 million years. Dr. Mark Puckett, Chairman of the Department of Geography and Geology at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

, has studied the area for years. According to Pucket, many species of fossils from the river were the first of their kind to be studied anywhere on earth. Some sealife fossils that are now found worldwide, were first discovered in deposits along this river, from a period when it was part of the sea. Some species are named for local towns and landmarks.

Course

The Chickasawhay is formed by the confluence of the

Chunky River The Chunky River is a short tributary of the Chickasawhay River in east-central Mississippi. Via the Chickasawhay, it is part of the watershed of the Pascagoula River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Course The river is formed between the t ...

and

Okatibbee Creek Okatibbee Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Tributaries include Chickasawhay Creek, Sowashee Creek, and Suqualena Creek. Okatibbee Creek joins the Chunky River to form the Chickasawhay River. Okatibbee Dam on Okatibbee Creek ...

, where

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

developed in northwestern

Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Com ...

, and it flows generally southward through present-day Clarke, Wayne and

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

counties into northern

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County, where it meets the Leaf River to form the Pascagoula River just north of the Merrill bridge. The Chickasawhay flows past the towns of Stonewall, Quitman, Shubuta, Waynesboro, Buckatunna, State Line and Leakesville. Shubuta, like many other towns along the rivers, was developed by European Americans from a trading post near an indigenous

village.

References

External links

"Chickasawhay River"
''Columbia Gazetteer of North America'' Bodies of water of Clarke County, Mississippi Bodies of water of George County, Mississippi Bodies of water of Greene County, Mississippi Rivers of Mississippi Bodies of water of Wayne County, Mississippi Mississippi placenames of Native American origin {{Mississippi-river-stub

Geology

Course

See also

References

External links