Mississippi (state)

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State in the south of the USA, bordered to the north by Tennessee, to the east by Alabama, to the south by the Gulf of Mexico, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and to the west the Mississippi River separates it from Arkansas and Louisiana; area 121,489 sq km/46,907 sq mi; population (2000) 2,844,700; capital and largest city Jackson. The state lies entirely within the East Gulf Coastal Plain and the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Along the state's short coastline are many small islands. Traditionally based on agriculture, the economy of Mississippi is now led by manufacturing and service industries; petroleum and natural gas industries are also important to the state economy. Industrial products include furniture, wood products, and transport equipment; cotton is a leading crop and other agricultural products include poultry, cattle, and rice. Major cities include Gulfport, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Greenville, Meridian, Tupelo, Southaven, Vicksburg, and Pascagoula. Mississippi's original inhabitants were the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Natchez American Indian peoples. Part of the Deep South, the state is historically associated with cotton plantations, slavery, and blues music. Mississippi was admitted to the Union in 1817 as the 20th US state.

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