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The
Sunflower River is one of the main tributaries of the
Yazoo RiverThe Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...
in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. It is navigable by barge for 50 miles. It rises in De Soto County, Mississippi near the
TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
border and flows south for 100 miles to the Yazoo River. At
ClarksdaleClarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County....
on its banks, the annual Sunflower River Blues and Gospel festival is held.
The
United States Army Corps of EngineersThe United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
maintains a navigation channel, thirty miles in length. Built in 1976, the channel is used by barges and pleasure craft.
According to the USGS, variant names include Hushpuckaman Creek.
Water Quality
Like the Yazoo, this river is heavily silt laden. The river gets its mud from the bayous and small streams that feed it. The river has a distinct "Clear-Mud Line" where it meets the Yazoo, showing that the Big Sunflower is muddier than the Yazoo.