Bashi Creek, also historically known as Bashai Creek, is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Tombigbee River The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties i ...

in northern Clarke County in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Location

Bashi Creek originates near Bashi, at coordinates of , and discharges into the Tombigbee River near Woods Bluff, at coordinates of . It is located above the Coffeeville Lock and Dam and is the only inlet off the river for several miles. There is a paved boat ramp located on the creek.

Etymology

The creek first appears on an 1844 map as Bashai Creek. Language scholars believe Bashi to be an adaptation of the

Choctaw language The Choctaw language (Choctaw: ), spoken by the Choctaw, an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, US, is a member of the Muskogean languages, Muskogean language family. Chickasaw language, Chickasaw is a separate but closely related l ...

word ''bachaya'', meaning "line," "row," or "course".

Bashi Formation

The creek has lent its name to the Bashi Formation, formerly also known as the Woods Bluff Formation, a

greensand Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and co ...

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

strata dating to the early

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

. The creek flows through the exposed strata of the formation.

Bashi Skirmish

The Bashi Skirmish in the

Creek War The Creek War (also the Red Stick War or the Creek Civil War) was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within th ...

was fought near the banks of this creek and took its name from the waterway.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Alabama Tributaries of the Tombigbee River Rivers of Clarke County, Alabama Alabama placenames of Native American origin