Yazoo River

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Yazoo River
The Yazoo River between Greenwood and Vicksburg

The Yazoo River between Greenwood and Vicksburg

Data
Water code US :  695222
location Mississippi (USA)
River system Mississippi River
Drain over Mississippi River  → Gulf of Mexico
confluence from Tallahatchie and Yalobusha
33 ° 32 ′ 38 "  N , 90 ° 10 ′ 4"  W
muzzle near Vicksburg in the Mississippi River Coordinates: 32 ° 20 ′ 8 "  N , 90 ° 53 ′ 50"  W 32 ° 20 ′ 8 "  N , 90 ° 53 ′ 50"  W.

length 302 km
Old, no longer in service swing bridge over the Yazoo River at Redwood, near the confluence with the Mississippi at Vicksburg

Old, no longer in service swing bridge over the Yazoo River at Redwood, near the confluence with the Mississippi at Vicksburg

Yazoo River Delta

Yazoo River Delta

The Yazoo is a left tributary of the Mississippi in the US state of Mississippi . At 302 kilometers in length, it is one of the longest eastern tributaries of the Mississippi.

The river was named in 1682 by the French explorer La Salle after a nearby Indian tribe. The exact meaning of the name is unclear. According to a longstanding belief, it means "river of death".

The river is created by the confluence of Tallahatchie and Yalobusha near the town of Greenwood . From there it runs parallel to the Mississippi for a large part of its route before the two bodies of water converge above Vicksburg . The area between the Yazoo and the Mississippi is criss-crossed by numerous tributaries and river arms, thus forming an inland delta that was named after the state of the Mississippi Delta and forms an independent natural and cultural landscape.

In the years before the American Civil War, the Yazoo played an important role in the economy of the southern states . A focus of cotton cultivation lay near its banks, and numerous paddle steamers drove from the Yazoo to New Orleans , Memphis and St. Louis .

During the Civil War , the river had an important military role. The Battle of Vicksburg also took place on and on the Yazoo. A sea ​​mine in the river was ignited electrically for the first time in 1862 and the gunboat USS Cairo of the Northern Navy was sunk. Even today, a total of 29 shipwrecks from this war lie at the bottom of the river.

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