Mississippi Facts & Statistics
The Mississippi State Flag
A committee to design a State Flag was appointed by legislative action February 7, 1894, and provided that the flag reported by the committee should become the official flag. The committee recommended for the flag "one with width two-thirds of its length; with the union square, in width two-thirds of the width of the flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltier thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen (13) mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding with the number of the original States of the Union; the field to be divided into three bars of equal width, the upper one blue, the center one white, and the lower one extending the whole length of the flag, red--the national colors; the staff surmounted with a spear-head and a battle-axe below; the flag to be fringed with gold, and the staff gilded with gold."
The Great Seal of Mississippi
A committee to design a State Flag was appointed by legislative action February 7, 1894, and provided that the flag reported by the committee should become the official flag. The committee recommended for the flag "one with width two-thirds of its length; with the union square, in width two-thirds of the width of the flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltier thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen (13) mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding with the number of the original States of the Union; the field to be divided into three bars of equal width, the upper one blue, the center one white, and the lower one extending the whole length of the flag, red--the national colors; the staff surmounted with a spear-head and a battle-axe below; the flag to be fringed with gold, and the staff gilded with gold."
Mississippi Facts
Capital - Jackson
Nick Name - The Magnolia State
Motto - Virtute et Armis (By valor and arms)
Constitution Ratified - 1890
Statehood - December 10, 1817 - 20th State
Population - 2,697,243 (31st)
State Bird - Mockingbird
State Flower - Magnolia blossom
State Tree - Magnolia Tree
State Fish - Largemouth Bass
State Land Mammal - White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
State Water Mammal - Bottlenosed Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), commonly called the Porpoise
State Waterfowl - Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
State Insect - Honeybee (Apis mellifera)
State Shell - Oyster Shell (Crassostrea virginica)
State Fossil - Prehistoric Whale
State Stone - Prehistoric Whale
State Song - Petrified Wood
State Beverage - Milk
Largest Cities (by population) - Jackson, Gulfport, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Greenville
Bordering States - North: Tennessee, South: Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana (Pearl River forms part of the Southern boundary), East: Alabama, West: Louisiana and Arkansas (Mississippi River forms almost all of the Western boundary)
Number of Counties - 82
Largest County (by population) - Hinds County, pop. 245,285 (2010)
Largest County (by size) - Yazoo County, 920 sq mi.
Smallest County (by population) - Issaquena County, pop. 1,406 (2010)
Smallest County (by size) - Alcorn County, 400 sq mi.
Electoral Votes - 6
U.S. Congress - 2 Senators; 5 Representatives
Time Zone - Central Time
Mississippi Climate & Weather
Generally - Hot, humid summers and mild winters.
Highest Temperature - 115 degrees / July 29, 1930 / Holly Springs
Lowest Temperature - -19 degrees / January 30, 1966 / Corinth
Average High Temp - 92.5 degrees F
Average Low Temp - 34.9 degrees F
Mississippi Geography
Highest Point - 806 feet / Woodall Mountain / Tishomingo County
Lowest Point - sea level / Mississippi Gulf Coast
Mean Elevation - 300 feet
Mississippi Land Area
Total Area - 48,430.19 sq mi. (32nd)
Land Area - 46,906.96 sq mi. (96.86%)
Water Area - 1,523.24 sq mi. (3.14%)
Forested Land Area - 19.79 million acres (64.85%)
Dimensions (Max Length X Max Width) - 340 miles x 170 miles