Pearl River (Mississippi-Louisiana)

The Pearl River is a river in the southern United States. It forms in Neshoba County, Mississippi from the confluence of several smaller streams about twelve miles northeast of Philadelphia, Mississippi. The Pearl River empties into the Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Yockanookany and Strong Rivers are tributaries. Northeast of Jackson, the Ross R. Barnett Reservoir is formed by a dam.

The Pearl passes near or through the following towns (in order):

• Philadelphia, Mississippi
• Pearl River, Mississippi
• Jackson, Mississippi
• Picayune, Pearl River County, Mississippi
• Bogalusa, Louisiana
• Pearl River, Louisiana

A few kilometers west of Picayune, the river forks: The East Pearl River empties into Grand Island of the Mississippi Sound; the West Pearl River flows through Louisiana.

The Pearl River serves as the 187-km (116-mile) boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana in its lower reach near the Gulf of Mexico.