Ambrosial Marshlands of the Tallahatchie River

These are ambrosial marshlands with small creeks that flow from  the Little Tallahatchie River in Mississippi. This small river flows  230 miles (370 km)from Tippah County, through Tallahatchie County, to  Leflore County, where it joins the Yalobusha River to form the Yazoo  River. The river is navigable for about 100 miles.  

Tallahatchie is a First Nations Choctaw name meaning "rock of waters"  and was an important trade tribal route. The head-water sources of the  Tallahatchie River have outcrops of iron sandstone.  

The eponymous wooden bridge over the river was popularized in Bobbie  Gentry's 1967 hit song "Ode to Billie Joe," which has the refrain,  "Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie bridge."  The wooden  bridge collapsed in 1972 after being set alight by vandals. It crossed  the Tallahatchie River at Money, about ten miles north of Greenwood,  Mississippi, and has since been replaced.  

The river is also mentioned in "Tallahatchie River Blues," recorded by  Mattie Delaney in 1930. This blues song laments the devastation caused  in the local African-American community by a flood on the normally  shallow river.  

The river is 50 ft (15 m) deep with very sharp rocks. As part of the  Flood Control Act of 1936, the federal government built an earth-filled  flood control dam on the Tallahatchie near the town of Sardis,  Mississippi, creating Sardis Lake and these flooded marshes seen in the  picture above.   

I lensed this image while flying above the area in the early spring.  The budding flowers and algae are brightly colored and vibrant in the  sunshine.   

This is from "Where Eagles Fly - The American Wilderness Expedition"  my personal project of exploration in the North American Wilderness.  

I am on a mission to raise awareness of our Iconic Natural Heritage  Treasures of North America.  

If you wish to help spread the word and  share these images of our amazing planet, please resteemit !  

Yehaw!!