MSGHN Facts and Figures

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."

Mississippi's great seal is the same one adopted by the state upon attaining statehood in 1817. It is a modified version of the United States arms—an American eagle with wings spread, holding in its left foot a quiver of arrows and in its right an olive branch—and has actually been in use since 1798, when Mississippi was a territory.

Mississippi Facts
Capital	Jackson
Nick Name	Magnolia State
Motto	Virtute et Armis (By valor and arms)
Constitution Ratified	1890
Statehood	December 10, 1817			20th state
Population	2,697,243	60.64 sq mi.		31st
Nickname	Magnolia State
State bird	Mockingbird
State flower	Magnolia
State tree	Magnolia
State fish	Largemouth Bass
State Land Mammal	White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
State Water Fowl	Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
Largest City (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 Counties in Mississippi
Largest County (by population)	Hinds County	250,800		569 sq mi.
Electoral Votes	6)
US Congress	2 Senators; 5 Representatives
Time Zone	Central Standard Time
Mississippi Climate and 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
Avg Temp: High - Low	92.5 degrees		34.9 degrees
Mississippi Highest, Lowest, and Mean Elevations (Feet)
Mean Elevation	300
Highest Point	Woodall Mountain			806
Lowest Point	Gulf of Mexico			Sea level
Mississippi Land Area
Geographic Center
Total Area	48,430.19			32nd
Land Area	46,906.96			96.86%
Water Area	1,523.24			3.14%
Forested Land Area			61.9%
Dimensions (Length - Width)	340 miles		170 miles

Mississippi Facts

Mississippi Climate and Weather

Mississippi Highest, Lowest, and Mean Elevations (Feet)

Mississippi Land Area