1. Unit I: Mississippi Geography
MS Studies
Unit I: Mississippi Geography
Coach Johnston

2. 5 Themes of Geography
Location – every place has a specific location on earth.
Place – every place has physical (natural) and cultural (man made) characteristics.
Human-Environment Interaction – how humans use and interact with the environment.
Movement – the ways we are linked with regions, cultures, and people beyond our immediate environment
Regions – Regions are defined as areas with similar characteristics

3. MS In The U.S.

4. Mississippi Geographical Regions
Four Geographical
Regions
Delta
Hills
Piney Woods
Gulf Coast

5. Mississippi Climate and Weather
MS has a humid subtropical climate.
Summers are hot and winters are cool.
State is humid and has ample rainfall
MS climate & rainfall helped create an agricultural state
Avg. Temp. in MS is 62°F
Highest Ever 115°F
Lowest Ever - 19°F
Avg. Precipitation is 52’’ per year
60’’ on the Gulf Coast

8. Natural Hazards of Mississippi
T-Storms are frequent and can result in flooding
Lightning is a problem in MS
Tornadoes – measured on the Fujita Scale (F1-F5)
Hurricanes – measured by the Saffir-Simpson Scale (1-5)
Earthquakes – low chance, but NW MS does sit near the New Madrid Fault

9. Fujita Scale
Saffir-Simpson Scale

10. Hurricane Katrina

11. The Earth’s Spheres Atmosphere – The Earth’s gases.
Lithosphere – all of the Earth’s land.
Hydrosphere – all of the Earth’s water.
Biosphere – all of the Earth’s life.

12. Water in Mississippi
Surface Water – trapped in lakes, ponds, rivers, oceans, etc.
Groundwater – below the earths surface.
Aquifers – when groundwater accumulates & is brought to the surface through springs or wells.

13. Rivers of Mississippi
MS River makes up most of MS’s western border. The river is 2,438 miles long.
MS River drains the interior of the U.S. between the Rocky & Appalachian Mts.
MS has 9 major river systems
Yazoo, Big Black, Homochitto, & Bayou Pierre-Coles Creek Rivers drain into the MS
Noxubee-Tombigbee, Pearl, Amite, Pascagoula, & Biloxi-Wolf-Jourdan rivers drain into the south.

14. Mississippi Reservoirs
Reservoirs are used as flood control measure. They capture and hold flood waters.
MS has 6 major Reservoirs
Pickwick Lake Enid Lake
Arkabulta Lake Grenada Lake
Sardis Lake Ross Barnett Reservoir

15. MS Rivers
MS Rivers Drainage

16. Mississippi Landform Regions
MS is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain
All lands in MS are fairly low elevation
The highest point in MS is Woodall Mountain (806 ft above sea level)
MS has 10 landform regions
Tombigbee Hills Loess Hills (Bluff Hills)
Black Prairie Yazoo Basin (Delta)
Pontotoc Ridge Jackson Prairie
Flatwoods Pine Hills (Piney Woods)
North Central Hills Gulf Coastal Meadows

18. Black Prairie
Tombigbee Hills
Jackson Prairie

19. Flatwoods
North Central Hills

20. Pontotoc Ridge
Loess Bluff

21. Yazoo Basin (Delta)

22. Pine Hills (Piney Woods)
Coastal Meadow

23. Mississippi Soil Regions
MS has historically been an agricultural state.
MS has 4 general soil regions.
Hills
Alluvial Plain (Delta)
Loess Hills
Black Prairie

24. Mississippi Minerals MS has very few minerals
Petroleum and Natural Gas in South
Gravel & Sand
Limestone
Fire Clay

25. Biota Biota describes the Flora & Fauna of a region Flora Fauna
MS is 55% forested
Magnolias, Oak, Hickory, Pine, Gum, Cypress
Fauna
MS has squirrels, white-tailed deer, rabbit, raccoons, opossums, foxes
Freshwater and saltwater fish & migratory birds.

26. MS Forest Types

29. Florida Panther

33. MS has 4 major Ecoregions
Coastal Meadows
Hilly Coastal Plain
Loess/Bluff Hills
Alluvial Plain

34. Ecoregions Coastal Meadows Hilly Coastal Plain Loess/Bluff Hills
Mainly flat plains, barrier islands, marshes, lagoons, swampy lowlands
Hilly Coastal Plain
½ of MS Land. Forest, Pasture, & Crops
Loess/Bluff Hills
Forest & Cropland. Portions great for Agriculture
Alluvial Plain
Fertile Soil. Large wetland system. Levees control flooding