Red Creek is a tributary 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. ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. The creek derives its name from naturally occurring tannins that give the water a reddish appearance as it flows over the white sand bottom.Red Creek Blueway
Retrieved 2014-06-02 A portion of Red Creek has been designated a ''State Scenic Stream'' by the

Mississippi Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...

.Mississippi Scenic Streams Stewardship Program
Retrieved 2014-06-04

Course

Red Creek originates in Lamar County and flows southeastward through

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

, Forrest,

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

counties.Friends of Red Creek Watershed Action Plan (2007)
Retrieved 2014-06-01 In Jackson County, Red Creek converges with Black Creek before flowing into the Pascagoula River. Its total length is approximately . That portion of Red Creek, from

Mississippi Highway 26 Mississippi Highway 26 (MS 26) is a state highway in southern Mississippi. It runs from a continuation of Louisiana Highway 10 (LA 10) east through Pearl River, Stone, and George counties to MS 198 in Lucedale. Along the way it ...

, west of

Wiggins Team Wiggins Le Col (), also known as ''Team Wiggins'' in media, was a professional developmental cycling team based in the United Kingdom, which began competing in elite road bicycle racing and track cycling in 2015. The team folded at the e ...

, to its convergence with Black Creek, is a public waterway and a designated scenic stream with a 100-ft (30-m) wide, heavily-wooded

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

. Red Creek flows through sections of

De Soto National Forest De Soto National Forest, named for 16th-century Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, is of pine forests in southern Mississippi. It is one of the most important protected areas for the biological diversity of the Gulf Coast ecoregion of North Ame ...

in the southwest corner of Forrest County, the northeast corner of Pearl River County, the eastern edge of Stone County, and the southwest corner of George County. Otherwise, the creek is flanked by private property.

Recreation

Red Creek is a developed blueway with four distinct segments for float trips in Stone County: *Clay Shelves Segment—This section covers , between Mississippi Highway 26 and

U.S. Route 49 U.S. Route 49 (US 49) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Piggott, Arkansas, at an intersection with US Route 62/ Highway 1/ Highway 139 (US 62/AR 1/AR 139). Its southern terminus is ...

. *Railroad Trestle Segment—A float trip of , between U.S. Route 49 and City Bridge. *Red Bluff Segment—The creek meanders , between City Bridge and Cable Bridge. *Natural Springs Segment—The shortest section contains , between Cable Bridge and

Mississippi Highway 15 Mississippi Highway 15 (MS 15) is a state highway in Mississippi. At almost , it is the longest highway in the Mississippi Highway System. MS 15 is divided into two sections due to a large gap between Stone County and Perry County. The souther ...

. Numerous white sandbars are suitable as rest stops, picnic areas, or overnight camp areas. Sixty-one species of freshwater and

diadromous fish Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

have been documented in the creek, and at least five species have value for sport fishing. In 2004, the Red Creek watershed was 66% forested and encompassed . Within the watershed, licensed hunting is allowed on De Soto National Forest and Red Creek Wildlife Management Area. Game species such as

whitetail deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an Upland game bird, upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic ...

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

, and

bobwhite quail The northern bobwhite (''Colinus virginianus''), also known as the Virginia quail or (in its home range) bobwhite quail, is a ground-dwelling bird native to Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Cuba, with introduced populations elsewhere in th ...

are found within the watershed.

References

External links

New Orleans Outdoor Companion: Ramsey Springs access to Red Creek (MS) now open
Retrieved 2014-06-03 {{authority control Rivers of Mississippi Bodies of water of Stone County, Mississippi Bodies of water of George County, Mississippi Bodies of water of Jackson County, Mississippi Bodies of water of Lamar County, Mississippi

Course

Recreation

See also

References

External links