Black Belt Overlook

Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness

"About 10 miles south of Tupelo on the Natchez Trace Parkway is an exhibit called the BLACK BELT OVERLOOK.

"In a much earlier age all this area lay under a part of the ocean, which extended up across much of the state of Alabama, entering what is now Mississippi from the east near Columbus. From there an arm of the ocean reached through here north up into Tennessee. The ocean's marine life, shells and such, formed deposits of limestone that built up to be the land here. Over the ages the weathered limestone has become the black fertile soil of this area known as the Black Belt or Black Prairie, and it's also known as the Tombigbee Prairie. This area is one of Mississippi's two richest growing areas and was once one of the nation's great cotton belts. Now it is mostly pasture land.

"The other major agricultural spot in Mississippi lies farther to the west but still it's in the northern part of the State. That area is the delta of the Mississippi River, which is on the other side of the state from here. The Delta lies between a belt of Loess soil and the Mississippi River, on a section of the river just South of Memphis, Tennessee, on down as far as Vicksburg.

"Join us next time when we will visit the TUPELO NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD. I'm Frank Thomas, you guide along the Natchez Trace, a road through the wilderness."

For more about Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness, visit eddieandfrank.com