Ponta Creek

Ponta Creek
Ponta Creek after a rain.
Location
Country	United States
State	Alabama and Mississippi
Physical characteristics
Source
• coordinates	32°34′31″N88°41′44″W / 32.575338°N 88.695623°W / 32.575338; -88.695623
Mouth
• coordinates	32°36′43″N88°21′52″W / 32.611829°N 88.364464°W / 32.611829; -88.364464
Length	23.5 mi (37.8 km)
Basin size	64.6 sq mi (167 km2) [1]

Ponta Creek is a stream in the U.S. states of Alabama and Mississippi. ^[2] It is a tributary to the Sucarnoochee River. Tributaries include Lost Horse Creek, Possum Creek, and Big Creek. ^{[3] [4]}

Ponta is a name derived from the Choctaw language purported to mean "mouse". ^[5] Variant names are "Panthe Creek" and "Ponti Creek". ^[2]

The Choctaw settlement of Coosha was located on Ponta Creek. ^[3] One of the three main divisions of the Choctaw tribe, the Eastern Division, lived in the area around Ponta Creek. ^[6] In 1795, 99 Choctaw lived in the village of Pante on Ponta Creek, with Hochinchimastabe serving as the village captain. ^[7]

References

1. Telis, Pamela (1991). Low-flow and Flow-duration Characteristics of Mississippi Streams. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Geological Survey. p. 134.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ponta Creek
3. Riley, Franklin L., ed. (1902). Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Volume VI. Oxford, Mississippi: Mississippi Historical Society. p. 416.
4. Logan, William N. (1914). The Pottery Clays of Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi State Geological Survey. p. 200.
5. Baca, Keith A. (2007). Native American Place Names in Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. p. 84. ISBN   978-1-60473-483-6.
6. Barnett, James F. Jr. (2012). Mississippi's American Indians. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-61703-245-5.
7. "1795 Census of the Choctaws". Choctaw Nation ITGenWeb. Retrieved August 1, 2023.