Mississippi lies entirely within two lowland plains: the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, known as the Delta, and the Gulf Coastal Plain, which includes areas such as the Red Clay Hills of north-central Mississippi and the Piney Woods of the south and southeast. Mississippi is a low-lying state, its highest point is just 800 ft (240 m) above sea level, at Woodall Mountain, in the extreme northeastern corner of the state.
In the northwestern part of the state, the great fertile crescent called the Delta is the old floodplain of the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers and is made up of rich, black soil several feet deep. The land here is protected by levee and reservoir systems.
Most of southern Mississippi lies in the gently rolling Piney Woods. The coastal area, sometimes called the Coastal Meadows, or Terrace, borders the Gulf of Mexico. Along the northern edge of the Piney Woods lies the narrow Central Prairie, separated from the Black Prairie by a section of hills and woods. The two prairies, with fertile black soil that is excellent for many types of agriculture, were once the site of large cotton plantations. East of the Black Prairie, in the extreme northeast, are the Tennessee Hills. These hills form the only area in Mississippi in which the terrain is reminiscent of the mountains of the southeastern United States. West of the Black Prairie is another highland area, the Pontotoc Ridge, which is around 400 to 600 feet (120 to 180 meters) above sea level. Its sandy soil is excellent for orchards.
Mississippi has many rivers, creeks, and bayous which drain the state. The major river systems include the Tombigbee, which joins with the Tennessee to make up the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, linking the Tennessee River with the Gulf of Mexico; the Pascagoula in the southeast; the Pearl in the south-central section; and the Mississippi and its tributaries in the west. These rivers and streams all empty into the gulf.
Mississippi’s largest lakes—Grenada, Sardis, Enid, and Arkabutla—are all manmade. Along the western edge of the state, there are many smaller, oxbow lakes. These lakes were once part of the Mississippi River, they were formed when the river changed its course. Mississippi's longest inland river is the Pearl, which flows about 490 miles (790 km) from the eastern part of the state to the Gulf of Mexico, and forms part of the border with Louisiana. The Big Black River begins in the northeast and cuts diagonally across the state, joining the Mississippi River about 20 mi (32 km) below Vicksburg. The Yazoo flows 189 mi (304 km) southwest to the Mississippi, to just above Vicksburg.
Mississippi’s climate, with short winters and long, humid summers, makes the state perfect for agriculture. The growing season is long (year-round on the coast), precipitation is plentiful, and extreme temperatures are unusual. Summers are warm, with daily temperatures ranging from the upper 60s F (about 20 °C) into the low 90s F (about 33 °C) in July and August. Autumn has bright, crisp, dry days which are considered the most comfortable of the year. During the winter, because of the influence of the Gulf of Mexico, the southern coast is much warmer than the north; in January, Biloxi averages 52°F (11°C) to Oxford's 41°F (5°C). Snowfall is rare. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Mississippi was –19°F (–28°C) on 30 January 1966 in Corinth; the highest, 115°F (46°C), was set on 29 July 1930 at Holly Springs.
Mississippi lies in the path of tropical cyclones (hurricanes) moving northward from the Gulf of Mexico from June to October. On 17–18 August 1969, Hurricane Camille ripped into Biloxi and Gulfport and caused more than 100 deaths throughout the state. In 2005 the cities of Gulfport and Biloxi were again heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina, one of the strongest Atlantic storms on record. Two tornado alleys cross Mississippi from the southwest to northeast, from Vicksburg to Oxford and McComb to Tupelo.
