ate flag was adopted in 1894. The bars of red, white, and blue are the national colours. A replica of the Confederate battle flag occupies the upper left portion. The state seal was adopted in 1817 and it bears a modified version of the arms of the United States. The eagle holds an olive branch and arrows, symbolizing the desire for peace but the ability to wage war. (see picture nr.4 and nr.5 on page 8)
             Area: 123,530 square kilometres, including 2,024 square kilometres of inland water but excluding 1,530 square kilometres of coastal water.
             Physical Geography: Most of Mississippi is part of the East Gulf Coastal Plain, and the rest of the state is made up of a section of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. The East Gulf Coastal Plain is generally composed of low hills, such as the Pine Hills in the south and the North Central Hills. Somewhat higher elevations are in the Pontotoc Ridge and the Fall Line Hills in the northeast. Yellow-brown loess soil is in the west, and a region of fertile black earth, part of the Black Belt, is in the northeast. The coastline, which includes large bays at Bay Saint Louis, Biloxi, and Pascagoula, is separated from the Gulf of Mexico proper by the shallow Mississippi Sound, which is partially enclosed by Petit Bois, Horn, Ship, and Cat islands. The Mississippi Alluvial Plain, known also as the Delta, is narrow in the south and widens north of Vicksburg. The region has rich soil, partly made up of silt deposited by floodwaters of the Mississippi River.
             Mississippi river: (Algonquin, Missi Sipi, or "great river") is central trunk of the major river system of the continent of North America. This river together with its tributaries – many of which is large enough to be considered the major streams – drains an area of 1,240,000 sq. mi., approximately one – eighth of the continent of North America.
             About 55% of the land area of Mississippi is covered with forests. In the north...