Chickasawhay River

The Chickasawhay River is a river about long in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. It is a principal tributary of the Pascagoula River that flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The Chickasawhay's tributaries also drain a portion of western Alabama. The name "Chickasawhay" comes from the Choctaw word chikashsha-ahi, literally "Chickasaw potato".

Geology

The Chickasawhay River is known for its abundant fossil deposits, placed over a period of 35 million years. Mark Puckett, Chairman of the Department of Geography and Geology at the University of Southern Mississippi, has studied the area for years. According to Puckett, many species of fossils from the river were the first of their kind to be studied anywhere on earth. Some sealife fossils that are now found worldwide were first discovered in deposits along this river from a period when it was part of the sea. Some species are named for local towns and landmarks.