Mississippi Delta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Technically not a delta but part of an alluvial plain, it has been said that The Delta "begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel (in Memphis) and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg" (various writers have been attributed with composing this memorable line, but most often David Cohen is credited with the saying). This region, created by regular flooding over thousands of years, is remarkably flat and contains some of the most fertile soil on the planet. It includes Washington, Humphreys, Carroll, Issaquena, Quitman, Bolivar, Coahoma, LeFlore, Sunflower, Sharkey, Tunica, Tallahatchie, and Yazoo counties. The Delta is strongly associated with the origins of several genres of popular music, including the Delta Blues, Jazz, and Rock and Roll, as well as with extreme levels of poverty [1] [2] [3]. In recent years, due to the growth of the automobile industry in the South, many parts suppliers have opened facilities in the Delta (as well as on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River, another area of high poverty).
Bluesman Robert Johnson's official grave site is at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Morgan City, but it is heavily debated if this is his actual final resting place. There are numerous towns and churches throughout the delta that claim be the site of his grave.
