Mississippi Delta
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In one usage, the Mississippi Delta is the new area of land (the delta) built up by alluvium from the Mississippi River over the last 5,000 years or so in the Gulf of Mexico - sometimes called the "recent delta".
In another usage, the Mississippi Delta is the most recent lobe this recent delta, the area below New Orleans at the mouth of the river - called the "modern delta" or "bird's foot delta".
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The Delta
When natives of the state of Mississippi use the term The Delta they're referring to the distinct northwest section of the state, generally between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. It has been said that this incarnation of The Delta "begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel (in Memphis) and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg" (various writers have been attributed with composing this memorable line, but most often David Cohen is credited with the saying). This region, created by regular flooding over thousands of years, is remarkably flat and contains some of the most fertile soil on the planet. It includes Washington, Humphreys, Carroll, Issaquena, Quitman, Bolivar, Coahoma, LeFlore, Sunflower, Sharkey, Tunica, Tallahatchie, and Yazoo counties. The Delta is strong associated with the origins of several genres of popular music, including the Blues, Jazz, and Rock and Roll.
Mississippi Embayment
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The term can also be used for a larger area when the alluvial valley of the Mississippi is also included. The valley reaches from southern Illinois to the junction of the Red, Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers in central Louisiana. The alluvium filled a deep valley that had been eroded during the Pleistocene when the sea level was lower. See Mississippi embayment.
See also
External links
- National Park Service - Lower Mississippi Delta Region (http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/)
