MISSISSIPPI, one of the East South Central states of the U.S., bordered on the N by Tennessee, on the E by Alabama, on the S by the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana, and on the W by Louisiana and Arkansas. The Mississippi R. forms almost all of the W boundary, and the Pearl R. forms part of the S boundary.
Mississippi entered the Union on Dec. 10, 1817, as the 20th state. Its economy was mainly agricultural until the middle third of the 20th century, when manufacturing became the dominant economic sector; service industries have become increasingly important in recent decades. Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, resided here. The name of the state is taken from that of the Mississippi R., the name of which is derived from an Algonquian Indian term for “big river.” Mississippi is called the Magnolia State.
Mississippi, with an area of 125,443 sq km (48,434 sq mi), is the 32d largest state in the U.S.; 5.5% of its land area is owned by the federal government. The state is roughly rectangular in shape, and its extreme dimensions are about 530 km (about 330 mi) from N to S and about 290 km (about 190 mi) from E to W. Elevations range from sea level, along the Gulf of Mexico, to 246 m (806 ft), atop Woodall Mt. in the NE. The approximate mean elevation is 91 m (300 ft). The state’s coastline is 71 km (44 mi) long; its tidal shoreline encompasses 578 km (359 mi). |