Mississippi's Borders: Not the River, But Louisiana to the West

The state of Mississippi's western border is not the Mississippi River. Instead, the state's boundaries are defined as follows:

• West: Louisiana (the Pearl River forms part of this boundary)
• East: Alabama
• North: Tennessee
• South: Gulf of Mexico

The Mississippi River forms the state's western boundary only in the northern section, where it separates Mississippi from Arkansas and Louisiana. However, the river shifts eastward further south, leaving a significant portion of the state's western border as a straight line with Louisiana. The river itself lies entirely within the state's western edge only in the north; the namesake river does not define the entire western flank.