The State of Mississippi (nicknamed `The Magnolia State’) lies in the South region of the USA and is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, Louisiana to the south-west and Arkansas to the west. In the south-east there is a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. To the east of this river is the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, or Delta, a broad band of flat, fertile land, which becomes narrower towards the south.

The state of Mississippi is famous for its sandy beaches. Numerous oxbow lakes, which were once part of the Mississippi River, lie along the state's western boundary. The other principal rivers of the state are the Pearl, flowing south into the Gulf of Mexico, and the Big Black and Yazoo Rivers, flowing south-west into the Mississippi. Mississippi has long, humid summers and short winters. Winters are mild in the south, which has a subtropical climate.