Chapter 1
The Geography of Mississippi
The 5 themes of
Geography
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Place- every place has both PHYSICAL and HUMAN
CHARACTERISTICS.
Human –Environment interactions- how we as
humans interact and use our environment.
Movement- transfer of good, ideas and services
Regions- Both Natural and Cultural
Location- relative location, compared to another
place..absolute location is percise!
Place
Human and Environment
Interactions
Northrop GrummanPascagoula
Mississippi’s relative
location
Mississippi’s Absolute
Location
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It lies between 30 and 35 degrees
North Latitude ****88 and 91 degrees
west longitude.
Services
GOODS
IDEAS
Mississippi’s 5 Geographic
Regions
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Delta-Northwest –flat fertile farm land
Hills- Central and North Ms…Largest
Region in state
Piney Woods- Southern Ms. Timber
growing
Gulf Coast- Narrow strip bordering Gulf
of Mexico, land not as fertile.
Capital -
Mississippi’s Natural
Environment
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Climate: humid subtropical. Cool winters
and warm/hot summers. Lots of rain!!!
Normal temperature: is 62 degrees.
Precipitation: coastal counties=60 inches a
year. Northern counties=50 inches a year.
Most of the rainfall occurs during the winter
months.
Average humidity ranges from 76% on the
coast to 70% inland.
Natural Hazards: Tornadoes and Hurricanes.
Water Resources
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Surface Water: water in lakes, ponds,
rivers, and oceans
Groundwater: used for water supply.
Rivers: 9 major rivers and 2 minor
rivers that make up the drainage
basin.
Reservoirs- 6 in the state: Pickwick,
Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid, Grenada, and
Ross Barnett
Mighty Mississippi River
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Longest River in the United States.
Begins at Lake Itasca in Minnesota
Flows 2,348 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.
Major Drainage Basin for the interior of the United
States. Missouri, Arkansas, and Ohio all flow into
MS river.
Deepest is 100 feet, to only 9 feet in some places.
Widest point is in Illinois @ 4,500 feet.
Many natural and man made levees.
Each year 400 millions tons of cargo transported on
MS River.
Identify the following
terms
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Alluvial soil
Aquifer
Climate
Elevation
Fauna
Flora
Ground water
Hurricane
Landforms
Latitude
Loam
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Loess
Longitude
Natural environment
Precipitation
Surface water
Topography
Tornado
weather