Pearl River (Mississippi-Louisiana)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pearl River
The US Coast Guard Cutter Pompano transiting the Pearl River
The US Coast Guard Cutter Pompano transiting the Pearl River
Origin Winston County, Mississippi
Mouth Lake Borgne
Basin countries U.S.
Length 781 km (485 mi)
Source elevation 175 m (575 ft)
Basin area 22,700 km² (8,760 mi²)

The Pearl River is a river in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Louisiana. It forms in Winston County, Mississippi from the confluence of Nanawaya and Tallahaga Creeks.[1] It is 790 kilometers (490 mi) long.[2] The Yockanookany and Strong Rivers are tributaries. Northeast of Jackson, the Ross Barnett Reservoir is formed by a dam.

The Pearl passes near or through the following towns (in order):

West of Picayune, about 80 kilometers (50 mi) above the mouth, the river forks.[2] The East Pearl River empties into Lake Borgne where the dredged Pearl River Channel meets the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The discharge flows eastward past Grand Island through St. Joe Pass and into the Mississippi Sound.[3] The West Pearl River, on the other hand, flows into The Rigolets, thence into Lake Borgne.[4] Both discharges eventually reach the Gulf of Mexico.

The Pearl River serves as the 187-kilometer (116 mi) boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana in its lower reach near the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has undertaken three significant navigation projects in the Pearl River Basin. In 1880, Congress authorized a 1.5-meter (5 ft) navigation channel on the West Pearl River from Jackson to the Rigolets. That project was discontinued in 1922. Beginning in 1910, a channel was dredged from the mouth of the East Pearl River into Lake Borgne, a project which is maintained on an irregular basis. In 1935, the West Pearl River Navigation Project was authorized. It provided for a navigation channel from Bogalusa to the mouth of the West Pearl River. The project includes a canal with three locks. The Corps of Engineers placed the project in "caretaker" status in the 1970s because of a decline in commercial traffic. Maintenance dredging resumed in December 1988.[5]

In the 1950s, underwater concrete sills were constructed to help maintain water levels in the navigation channel. This has prevented Gulf sturgeon and other migratory species from accessing upstream areas. A rock ramp constructed in 2003 helps fish navigate over one of the sills,[6] but environmental groups propose further work to mitigate the effects of the navigation project.[7]

Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 caused extensive damage in the Pearl River. Bottom sediments and marsh vegetation—including uprooted cypress and oak trees—blocked the mouth of the West Pearl and other parts of the channel, preventing navigation and diverting flow. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries and other agencies removed 27,000 cubic meters (35,000 yd³) of debris.[8]

The country music band Pearl River named itself after this river. In wrestling, Ahmed Johnson's finishing maneuver was known as the Pearl River Plunge.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Topography & History. Pearl River Basin Development District. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.
  2. ^ a b The Pearl River Basin. USGS – The Rivers of Mississippi. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.
  3. ^ Conservation Habitats and Species Assessments (PDF). Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.
  4. ^ Title 33, Chapter 32, § 1804. Inland and intracoastal waterways of the United States. U.S. Code Collection, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  5. ^ State of Mississippi v. U.S. (1990). Government Briefs, Office of the Solicitor General, U.S. Dept. of Justice. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  6. ^ Project #1003 - Fisheries Habitat Restoration in the Pearl River. Gulf of Mexico Foundation. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  7. ^ Comprehensive Habitat Management Plan for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin (PDF). Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (2006-02-26). Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  8. ^ "West Pearl being cleared of debris", New Orleans Times-Picayune, 2005-12-14. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.