The Pearl 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 ...

in the U.S. states of

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 ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. It forms in

Neshoba County Neshoba County is located in the central part of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,087. Its county seat is Philadelphia. It was named after ''Nashoba'', a Choctaw chief. His name means "wolf" in the ...

from the confluence of Nanih Waiya and Tallahaga creeks, and has a meander length of .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed June 13, 2011 The lower part of the river forms part of the boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana. The river watershed contains large areas of bottomland hardwood swamp and cypress swamp, providing habitat for many species of wildlife, including sturgeon and black bears. As recently as 2008, endangered ivory-billed woodpeckers were reportedly sighted here. The mouth of the river creates important marsh habitat along salinity gradients, which has been the subject of many scientific studies. It is considered to be one of the most critical areas of natural habitat remaining in Louisiana. Mississippi's capital and largest city, Jackson, is located along the upper reaches of the river. Most of the towns along the river, starting with Philadelphia, Mississippi in the north, are within the boundaries of that state.

Tributaries and hydrology

Floating saloons on the Pearl River, Mississippi, 1907

Pearl River barge transporting Saturn V S-I on East Pearl River

The Yockanookany and

Strong Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United S ...

rivers are tributaries on the upper section of the river north of Jackson: the Lobutcha, Tuscolameta, and Pelahatchie creeks also feed in as tributaries in this region. In 1924 the Tuscolameta Creek received 24-mile channelization and Yockanookany River received a 36-mile canal, which was completed in 1928. Northeast of Jackson, the

Ross Barnett Reservoir The Ross Barnett Reservoir, often called the Rez, is a reservoir of the Pearl River between Madison and Rankin counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The lake serves as the state's largest drinking water resource, and is managed by the Pe ...

was formed by a 1962 dam. Average annual rainfall is about 52 inches in the upper third of the basin, and below Jackson the basin rainfall increases to 64 inches or more, contributing to the greater discharge of the Bogue Chitto as noted below. The

Bogue Chitto River The Bogue Chitto River is a stream in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is a tributary of the Pearl River. The river passes through the Bogue Chitto State Park in Washington Parish, Louisiana. ''Bogue Chitto'' is a name derived ...

is a major tributary on the lower section. The Bogue Chitto's mean low-water discharge to the lower river is nearly six times that of the mean low-water discharge of the Pearl River at Jackson, Mississippi, according to a 1936 government report of the Mississippi Planning Commission. West of Picayune, about above the mouth, the river forks. The East Pearl River empties into

Lake Borgne Lake Borgne (french: Lac Borgne, es, Lago Borgne) is a lagoon of the Gulf of Mexico in southeastern Louisiana. Although early maps show it as a lake surrounded by land, coastal erosion has made it an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Its name comes fro ...

, where the dredged Pearl River Channel meets the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The discharge flows eastward past Grand Island through St. Joe Pass and into the Mississippi Sound. The West Pearl River flows into

The Rigolets Rigolets is a 12.9 kilometer (8 mi) long deepwater strait in Louisiana. "Rigolets" comes from the word ''rigole'', French for 'trench' or 'gutter'. The name is now locally pronounced "RIG-uh-leez". The strait begins at and follows a gener ...

, thence into Lake Borgne. Both discharges eventually reach the Gulf of Mexico. The Pearl River serves as the boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana in its lower reach near the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an 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 United ...

. Pearl River provides the receiving waters for the Savanna Street Sewage Treatment Plant in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

. which lies about from the mouth of the river.

Pearl River towns

The following towns (in order, north to south) developed on or near the Pearl River: * Philadelphia, Mississippi *

Pearl River, Mississippi Pearl River is a census-designated place (CDP) in Neshoba County, Mississippi. It is one of the eight communities of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Reservation and the population is 80% Choctaw. The population was 3,156 at the 2000 census ...

- named after the river. * Carthage, Mississippi *

* Flowood, Mississippi * Pearl, Mississippi - named after the river. *

Georgetown, Mississippi Georgetown is a town in Copiah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 286 at the 2010 census. With its eastern border formed by the Pearl River, it is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. Two sites near Georgetown are ...

Rockport, Mississippi Rockport is an unincorporated community in Copiah County, Mississippi. Located a short distance west of the Pearl River, Rockport was once a thriving railway town, though little remains of the original settlement. History Indigenous people first ...

* Monticello, Mississippi * Columbia, Mississippi * Bogalusa, Louisiana * Picayune, Mississippi *

Pearlington, Mississippi Pearlington is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on U.S. Route 90, along the Pearl River, at the Louisiana state line. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

- named after the river. *

Pearl River, Louisiana Pearl River is a town in St. Tammany Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 2,506 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 2,618 at the 2020 population estimates program. It is part of the New Orleans– Metairie–Kenner metrop ...

- named after the river.

Pearl River navigation

The lower river was navigable from Brashear's Stand on the Natchez Trace to the mouth. For the year 1827 the enrolled and licensed tonnage for Pearl River shipping was 750 tons. The customhouse at Pearl River which was ten miles inland at the small town of

was later changed, but in 1904 the district reported a total of 358 vessels and 19,869 tons. The

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

has undertaken three significant navigation projects in the Pearl River Basin. In 1880, Congress authorized a

navigation channel Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

on the West Pearl River from Jackson to the Rigolets. That project was discontinued in 1922. Beginning in 1910, a channel was dredged from the mouth of the East Pearl River into Lake Borgne, a project which is maintained on an irregular basis. In 1935, the West Pearl River Navigation Project was authorized. It provided for a navigation channel from Bogalusa to the mouth of the West Pearl River. The project includes a canal with three locks. The Corps of Engineers placed the project in "caretaker" status in the 1970s because of a decline in commercial traffic. Maintenance dredging resumed in December 1988. In the 1950s, underwater concrete sills were constructed to help maintain water levels in the navigation channel. This has prevented

Gulf sturgeon The Gulf sturgeon (''Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi'') is a subspecies of sturgeon that lives in the Gulf of Mexico and some rivers draining into it. The Gulf sturgeon was first recognized as a separate subspecies in 1955. The nominate subspeci ...

and other migratory species from accessing upstream areas. A rock ramp constructed in 2003 helps fish navigate over one of the sills, but environmental groups propose further work to mitigate the effects of the navigation project. Building dams, canals, levees and water control structures is known to have highly negative effects on wetlands and the ecological services they provide. Increasingly, these artificial structures are being removed to allow natural river activities to resume. 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 Mexic ...

is one of the few remaining southern rivers with natural water regimes, and is a potential model for restoring the Pearl River floodplain. At the Bogalusa, Louisiana gauge the river was recorded in 1983 and 1987 as delivering nearly 3.5 million metric tons and 2.5 million metric tons of sediment respectively.

Hurricane effects

Hurricanes are a natural form of disturbance that shapes rivers and watersheds on the Gulf Coast, and has done so for thousands of years. As one recent example, Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, caused further natural changes in the Pearl River. Bottom sediments and marsh vegetation—including uprooted cypress and oak trees—blocked the mouth of the West Pearl and other parts of the channel. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries and other agencies removed 27,000 cubic meters (35,000 yd³) of debris. However, the accumulation of this woody debris is a natural part of floodplain ecosystems in general, and wetlands in particular, and provides vital habitat for species including fish and turtles.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. p. 225-227, Figure 8.14, 8.15, Hence, this use of state funds to remove debris was an expenditure on an activity that is known to have negative impacts upon watersheds and wild species.

References

External links

* *Heinrich, P. V., 2005
''Contrasting Pleistocene and Holocene Fluvial Systems of the Lower Pearl River, Louisiana and Mississippi, USA.''
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 37, No. 2, p. 41. *Heinrich, P. V., 2006
''Pleistocene and Holocene Fluvial Systems of the Lower Pearl River, Mississippi and Louisiana, USA.''
Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions. vol. 56, pp. 267–278. (Contains geologic map of Lower Pearl River Valley) *Heinrich, P. V., R. P. McCulloh, and J. Snead, 2007
''Bogalusa 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle.''

Louisiana Geological Survey The Louisiana Geological Survey is a state geological survey established by the Louisiana legislature by Act 131 in 1934 to serve the citizens Louisiana by collecting, preserving, and disseminating impartial information on the geomorphology, hydrog ...