The Loosahatchie River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed June 3, 2011

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

in southwestern

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Except for a few miles near its head, its mouth, and near the middle of its length, it has been entirely channelized, as have its major

tributaries 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 b ...

, for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

purposes. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

was once the site of extensive

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

plantings, which have been greatly diminished in recent decades by extensive urbanization of the area. The Loosahatchie rises in the westernmost part of

Hardeman County, Tennessee Hardeman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,462. Its county seat is Bolivar. History Hardeman County was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1823 from parts of Ha ...

, and flows largely east to west throughout its length. It enters

Fayette County, Tennessee Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,990. Its county seat is Somerville. The county was named after the Marquis de la Fayette, French hero of the American Revolution. ...

, flowing through

Somerville Somerville may refer to: *Somerville College, Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford Places *Somerville, Victoria, Australia * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia * Somerville, New Zealand, a subur ...

, and is crossed west of there by

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

in the only unchannelized portion of its midcourse. It then flows into Shelby County. Its mouth is slightly north of the

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of Frayser. It meets the

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 ...

north of the mouth of the Wolf River near Mud Island. Slightly downstream from its mouth in the main Mississippi channel is the Loosahatchie Bar, which is named for it. The name "Loosahatchie River" is partially redundant—the word "hatchie" is one of many words for "river" in several

Muskogean languages Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...

native to the Southeast.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Tennessee Tributaries of the Mississippi River Bodies of water of Hardeman County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Fayette County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Shelby County, Tennessee

See also

References