Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana)
Catchment area of the Pearl River
Cutter " U.S.S. Pompano " the United States Coast Guard on the river
The Pearl River is a river in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Louisiana.
The river arises in Winston County, Mississippi at the confluence of Nanawaya and Tallahaga Creek. It has a length of 781 kilometers. Its catchment area includes 23 counties in Mississippi and three Parishes in Louisiana. The main tributaries are Yockanookany River and Strong River. Northeast of Jackson ( Mississippi) is dammed by a dam, the Ross Barnett Reservoir.
Cities on the Pearl River
The Pearl River flows through the following cities or near past them (from north to south):
- Philadelphia, Mississippi
- Pearl River, Mississippi
- Carthage, Mississippi
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Flowood, Mississippi
- Pearl, Mississippi
- Georgetown, Mississippi
- Rockport, Mississippi
- Monticello, Mississippi
- Columbia, Mississippi
- Bogalusa, Louisiana
- Picayune, Mississippi
- Pearl River, Louisiana
Cruise on the Pearl River
West of Picayune, about 80 km upstream of the mouth, the river divides. The East Pearl River empties into Lake Borgne where the dredged Pearl River Channel meets with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The water then flows eastward to Grand Iceland over by St. Joe Pass and into the Mississippi Sound. The West Pearl River on the other hand leads to the Rigolets and thus eventually also into Lake Borgne. Finally, the water of the Gulf of Mexico reached.
The Pearl River is 187 km on its lower reaches the boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers has conducted three major projects to facilitate navigation in the catchment area of the river. 1880, the United States Congress approved a 1.5 m deep navigation channel on the western Pearl River between Jackson and the Rigolets. This project was not continued in 1922. From 1910 to a channel from the mouth of East Pearl River was dredged in Lake Borgne. This project will be continued on an irregular basis. It was the river between Bogalusa and the mouth of West Pearl River navigable. Part of this project are three locks. The Corps of Engineers followed this project since the 1970s only as a conservation measure because of the commercial traffic is declining.
In the 1950s underwater thresholds were built of concrete in order to maintain the water level of the fairway stable. These thresholds have prevented the migration of fish for pike and other migratory fish. A fish ladder was built in 2003 from stones supports this species in the migration to the upper reaches of the river. Environmental groups have called for further action.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in August 2005 at the maturity of the Pearl River. Debris and uprooted trees, including bald cypress and live oaks blocked the mouth of West Pearl River and other parts of the river, so the shipping obstructed and the flow was diverted. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries and other authorities could remove more than 27,000 cubic meters of broken wood and other debris from the riverbed.
Culture
The country music band Pearl River has been named after the river.