Pemiscot County occupies the southeastern edge of Missouri’s Bootheel, where Caruthersville and Hayti sit between the Mississippi River and an extensive network of lowland drainage channels. Portageville lies to the north, Steele and Cooter anchor the south, and Wardell and Bragg City help define the western plain. U.S. 61 and Interstate 55 provide the strongest north-south road references, while Routes 84, 164, and 412 connect the river side with inland communities. High-resolution map files are available for download in the section below.
This page separates roads and boundaries, major settlement locations, waterways, and elevation into four map views. High-resolution JPG originals of the county map, city map, terrain-and-water map, and elevation map can also be downloaded together in one ZIP for closer viewing, A3 printing, classroom work, reports, or other large-format reference use.
Table of Contents
Hayti connects U.S. 61, Interstate 55, and the road to Caruthersville
Hayti is the easiest place to begin reading the general map. U.S. 61 runs north-south through the area, Route 84 crosses toward Bragg City and the western plain, and Route 412 heads southeast toward Caruthersville. Interstate 55 lies nearby and gives the central county a second strong north-south reference.
Following U.S. 61 north leads toward Portageville, while the southbound route continues through the Steele and Cooter side of the county. The combination of U.S. 61 and Interstate 55 makes the Hayti-Steele corridor much denser than the road grid farther west, where local roads and drainage ditches dominate the landscape.
Caruthersville sits immediately beside a large Mississippi River bend and has a different road setting from the inland towns. Route 412 links it with Hayti, while Route 155 follows the river side farther south. Because the eastern boundary curves repeatedly with the river, a short straight-line separation does not always translate into a short road trip.
Route 164 crosses the southern county through Denton and Steele, and Route 137 appears close to the southern border. Route 153 provides a western reference in the northern half. Once these numbered roads are located, smaller communities such as Wardell, Homestown, and Pascola are much easier to place within the broad lowland grid.
Six highlighted communities span the river side and western lowlands
The city map highlights Caruthersville, Hayti, Steele, Hayti Heights, Wardell, and Cooter. Caruthersville ranks first and sits near the Mississippi River in the east. Hayti and Hayti Heights form a close pair near the main highway junctions, while Steele and Cooter occupy the southern corridor and Wardell lies farther northwest.
The city index ranks Hayti second and Steele third, followed by Hayti Heights, Wardell, and Cooter. Those rankings are useful as a quick guide to the featured places, but their positions matter more for map reading. Caruthersville marks the river edge, Hayti anchors the road network, Steele and Cooter define the south, and Wardell helps locate the western drainage plain.
Hayti Heights appears immediately beside Hayti, yet it is shown as a separate community on the city map. The close spacing contrasts with Wardell and Cooter, which sit much farther away. This is a useful reminder that Pemiscot County’s population is not distributed evenly across the large lowland area.
Portageville is an important northern place on the general map even though it is not part of the six-community city index. For that reason, the city view is best used as an orientation layer rather than a complete settlement inventory. Combining it with the general county map gives a fuller picture from Portageville in the north to Cooter near the southern edge.
Mississippi River bends contrast with Little River and the drainage-ditch grid
The Mississippi River dominates the eastern side of the terrain-and-water map. It forms several enormous bends along the county boundary, including a deep curve east of Caruthersville. Robinson Lake and Half Moon Bayou appear within the river-side lowlands, showing that the floodplain contains smaller water features in addition to the present main channel.
The western and northwestern interior is organized around the Little River and the Old Channel Little River. Clay Root Bayou lies nearby, while long straight channels such as Main Ditch No. 8, Main Ditch No. 6, and Main Ditch Number 9 cross the flat farmland. Their geometry is very different from the sweeping bends of the Mississippi River.
More drainage channels appear in the southwest, including Belle Fountain Ditch and Ditch Number 8. Numerous smaller straight channels fill the spaces between the named features. This dense drainage network reflects the extremely low relief of the county, where moving water away from broad flat fields is an important part of the landscape.
The terrain-and-water map is intended for geographic reference rather than flood determination, levee assessment, water-depth analysis, navigation, parcel boundaries, or legal water boundaries. Mississippi River stage and local drainage conditions can change, so current decisions should rely on appropriate official hydrologic and emergency-management sources.
Elevation varies only from about 71 to 90 meters
The elevation map reports an actual range of roughly 71 to 90 meters and a mean near 80 meters. Broad parts of the west and southwest are shown in lower green tones, confirming how flat the Wardell, Bragg City, Steele, and Cooter side of the county is. The small overall elevation range is one reason the drainage network stands out so strongly on the water map.
Relatively higher brown terrain appears around the northern Portageville area and along parts of the northeastern Mississippi River floodplain. Even the highest ground is only around 90 meters, so these are not hills in the usual sense. They are subtle rises, natural levees, and older river-deposit surfaces that stand slightly above the surrounding lowlands.
The Caruthersville side also shows small changes in elevation around major river bends. Low green corridors follow parts of the floodplain and former channels, while narrow higher strips appear beside them. Looking only at the county average would hide these differences; the color map makes the subtle river-side relief easier to see.
This county-scale elevation layer is useful for broad comparison, not for engineering, levee design, construction drainage, parcel-level elevation decisions, or survey-grade measurement. Site-specific work requires more detailed official elevation data or field surveying.
Use the road, water, and elevation views together
Start with the general county map when roads and settlement locations matter most. Hayti, U.S. 61, and Interstate 55 provide an immediate framework, after which Caruthersville, Portageville, Steele, Wardell, and Cooter are easy to place. The city map is faster when you only need the relative distribution of the six highlighted communities.
For waterways, begin with the Mississippi River on the east and the Little River system on the west. Then compare Robinson Lake, Half Moon Bayou, the Old Channel Little River, and the numbered drainage ditches. Moving to the elevation map afterward shows how little relief separates those waterways and why straight drainage channels are so common.
Pemiscot County is a good example of why small elevation differences can matter. The map never reaches high terrain, yet the difference between the western lowlands, subtle river levees, and former channels helps organize roads, drainage, and settlement. The water and elevation maps reveal far more about that setting than the road map alone.
The downloadable JPG originals contain more pixels than the WebP previews embedded on the page, making them better for enlargement, A3 printing, classroom handouts, reports, and personal reference. They remain general-purpose maps, however. Legal boundaries, property ownership, live road restrictions, flood status, levee conditions, and precise site elevations should always be checked against the appropriate current official source.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which road is the easiest reference between Hayti and Caruthersville?
Route 412 is the clearest connection from Hayti southeast toward Caruthersville. Hayti also sits close to U.S. 61 and Interstate 55, making it a useful starting point for locating Portageville to the north and Steele and Cooter to the south.
How much elevation change is shown across Pemiscot County?
The elevation map shows an actual range of about 71 to 90 meters with a mean near 80 meters. The western and southern plains are lowest, while the Portageville area and parts of the northeastern river-side floodplain sit slightly higher.
Why are so many numbered ditches shown on the water map?
Much of Pemiscot County is extremely flat, so drainage channels are a major part of the visible water network. Main Ditch No. 8, No. 6, and No. 9 are shown alongside Little River, bayous, and former river channels, but the map does not indicate current flood risk or water levels.
Map File Information
The download ZIP contains high-resolution JPG versions of the Pemiscot County general map, city map, terrain-and-water map, and elevation map.
- File Type: JPG
Related Maps
Sources and References
Boundary and road reference data are supported by U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line, water features by USGS National Hydrography, and elevation data by the USGS 3D Elevation Program. These maps are general geographic references and are not substitutes for legal surveys or current operational data.
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data. These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
