Skuna River facts for kids
The Skuna River is a river in north-central Mississippi, United States. It's about 75 miles (120 kilometers) long. The Skuna River is a smaller river, called a tributary, that flows into the Yalobusha River. From there, its water eventually joins the Yazoo River and then the mighty Mississippi River. This means the Skuna River is part of a large watershed, which is an area of land where all the water drains into a common river system.
Where the Skuna River Flows
The Skuna River starts about 4 miles (6 kilometers) west of Pontotoc in Pontotoc County. It then flows mostly southwest through Chickasaw and Calhoun Counties. You can see it near the town of Bruce.
Most of the river's path has been changed by people. This is called "channelization," where engineers make the river straighter and deeper. Because of this, it's also known as the "Skuna River Canal."
The Skuna River joins the Yalobusha River about 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) east of Grenada. It flows into the northern part of Grenada Lake. This lake was created by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam on the Yalobusha River. The Skuna River usually carries about 620 cubic feet of water per second near Coffeeville, Mississippi.
What's in a Name?
The name Skuna comes from the Choctaw language. It is thought to mean "entrails" or "guts."
The United States Board on Geographic Names officially decided on "Skuna River" as the stream's name on February 3, 1926. Before that, it was known by several other names, including:
- Loosa Schoona
- Loosa Shooner Creek
- Schoona
- Schooner
- Scoona Creek
- Scoopa Creek
- Scuna
- Shooner
