Big Black River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Big Black River is a river in the US state of Mississippi and a tributary of the Mississippi River. Its origin is in Webster County near the town of Eupora in the north central part of the state. From there it flows 330 miles (531 km) in a generally southwest direction until it merges with the Mississippi River 25 miles south of the city of Vicksburg.[1]. It is the major contributor to the Big Black River Basin.[2]
The Big Black River and most of its tributaries are silt-filled. The rivers carry large amounts of suspended sediment stemming mostlly from agricultural runoff. These tributaries are slow-flowing muddy streams. However, some are swift-flowing with sandy bottoms.[3]
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[edit] Big Black River Basin
The size of Big Black River Basin drainage area is 3,400 square miles. Its elevation varies from 50 to 650 feet (14 to 198 meters) above sea level. It is 160 miles long and averages 22 to 25 miles wide. Most of its small tributaries are in the upper part of the basin and flow only part of the year. The terrain is hilly with 56 pecent percent of the land forested and 39 percent used for farming and cattle ranching.[3]
[edit] Battle site
The Battle of Big Black River Bridge[4] fought in the Battle of Vicksburg was part of the Vicksburg Campaign in the American Civil War.
[edit] Reference notes
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company
- ^ Big Black River Basin. Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved on October 20, 2006.
- ^ a b The Big Black River Basin. USGS.gov. Retrieved on October 20, 2006.
- ^ Big Black River Bridge. nps.gov. Retrieved on October 20, 2006.
