Blank Mississippi map

What the outline shows

The outline shows the state border. The west edge is the Mississippi River from the Tennessee line to just below Natchez, facing Arkansas and then Louisiana. Below that, the west and south edges against Louisiana are a straight line along the 31st parallel, then the Pearl River south to the Gulf. The Gulf coast is about 45 miles long, with the Mississippi Sound and barrier islands off it. The east edge with Alabama is a nearly straight line that runs slightly northeast. The north edge with Tennessee is straight. None of the 82 counties appear. Press Capital to mark Jackson in the centre-west, on the Pearl River, and Abbreviation to stamp "MS".

Portrait or landscape

Mississippi is about 340 miles from north to south and about 170 miles east to west, a 2:1 ratio. Print in portrait. The map fills the page height, with margins for labels on both sides. The river meanders along the west edge stay readable. Landscape would halve the map. The state's straight edges make the outline simple to draw freehand, so it also works well as a model for students to copy onto their own paper.

Five classroom exercises

1. Trace the Mississippi River along the west edge and mark Arkansas and Louisiana across it; note where the river border ends south of Natchez.
2. Shade the Delta, the flat floodplain between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers in the northwest, and draw the Yazoo joining the Mississippi at Vicksburg.
3. Draw the Pearl River from north of Jackson south through the capital, then along the lower Louisiana border to the Gulf.
4. Place Jackson, Gulfport, Southaven, Biloxi and Hattiesburg, then mark the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway along the northeast.
5. Draw the 31st parallel along the western Louisiana border and mark the Gulf coast between the Pearl River and the Alabama line, with the barrier islands.

How to recognise the Mississippi outline

• A tall block, a little more than twice as high as wide, with three nearly straight sides.
• A wavy left edge, the Mississippi, which is the most detailed part of the outline.
• A bottom-left corner that steps: a straight line east, then a river south to the coast.
• A short, flat Gulf coast at the bottom with a line of thin barrier islands.

Answer key and related maps

• Mississippi map — the labeled version with capital, cities and borders; use it as the answer key.
• Printable Mississippi map — the same outline with cities, county lines and the capital printed on.
• Mississippi county map — all 82 counties with their seats.
• Jackson — capital and largest city, on the Pearl River.
• Neighbours: Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas.
• Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico maps.
• All blank state maps and the printable US maps index.