The Pearl River is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the U.S. states of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. It forms in Neshoba County,

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 Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,118 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Philadelphia is municipal corporation, i ...

in the north, are within the boundaries of that state.

Tributaries and hydrology

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 ...

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 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 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, 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 Mississippi Sound is a sound along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It runs east-west along the southern coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, from the mouth of the Pearl River at the Mississippi-Louisiana state border to the Dauphin Islan ...

. The West Pearl River flows into The Rigolets, 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 () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

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

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. which lies about from the mouth of the river.

Towns on the river

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

* Pearl River, Mississippi - 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 Georgetow ...

* Rockport, Mississippi * Monticello, Mississippi * Columbia, Mississippi *

Bogalusa, Louisiana Bogalusa ( ) is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,232 at the 2010 census. In th2020 censusthe city reported a population of 10,659. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Ar ...

Picayune, Mississippi Picayune ( ) is the largest city in Pearl River County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,885 at the 2020 census. The city is located approximately from New Orleans, Hattiesburg, and Gulfport–Biloxi. The Stennis Space Cen ...

* Pearlington, Mississippi - named after the river. * Pearl River, Louisiana - named after the 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 Pearlington, Mississippi 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 has undertaken three significant navigation projects in the Pearl River Basin. In 1880, Congress authorized a navigation channel 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 and other migratory species from accessing upstream areas. A rock ramp was designed in 2003 to help fish navigate over one of the sills, but was never constructed. 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 Mexico. ...

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 Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

on August 29, 2005, caused further natural changes in the Pearl River. Bottom sediments and marsh vegetation—including uprooted

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

and

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

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 A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

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, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. *Heinrich, P. V., R. P. McCulloh, and J. Snead, 2004
''Gulfport 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle.''
Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearl River (Mississippi-Louisiana) * Rivers of Louisiana Rivers of Mississippi Borders of Mississippi Borders of Louisiana Rivers of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Rivers of Neshoba County, Mississippi Rivers of Leake County, Mississippi Rivers of Hinds County, Mississippi Rivers of Rankin County, Mississippi Rivers of Copiah County, Mississippi Rivers of Lawrence County, Mississippi Bodies of water of Marion County, Mississippi Rivers of Washington Parish, Louisiana Rivers of Pearl River County, Mississippi Rivers of Hancock County, Mississippi Drainage basins of the Gulf of Mexico