ABSTRACT
DELTA, MISSISSIPPI RIVER Alluvial plains created by deposits at the mouth of a river and shaped roughly like triangles, deltas provide fertile acreage for crops, wildlife habitats, and human cultural development. While deltas exist at the mouths of most major rivers, the term “Delta” in American parlance usually refers to the floodplain formed by the Mississippi River. Geologically speaking, this delta stretches from north of the confluence of the Mississippi and
Ohio rivers to the Gulf of Mexico south of New Orleans. Encompassing parts of seven states (Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana), the Mississippi River Delta has created distinctive folk cultures in each. Often the term “Delta” is used exclusively to refer to a portion of northwestern Mississippi-a triangle of flatland whose southern apex is located where the Yazoo River enters the Mississippi River. According to at least one historian, the region extends from the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, to Catfish Row in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The folklife that developed in this region, however, extends across the river into southeastern Arkansas and northwestern Louisiana.
