MS Studies

1. Unit I: Mississippi Geography MS Studies 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 4. Enid Lake • Arkabulta Lake 5. Grenada Lake • Sardis Lake 6. 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 • 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 • 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