The Mississippi Gulf Coast refers to the three Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

 counties which lie on the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

: Hancock

Hancock County, Mississippi

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 42,967 people, 16,897 households, and 11,827 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 people per square mile . There were 21,072 housing units at an average density of 44 per square mile...

, Harrison

Harrison County, Mississippi

-National protected areas:* De Soto National Forest * Gulf Islands National Seashore - Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 189,601 people, 71,538 households, and 48,574 families residing in the county. The population density was 326 people per square mile . There were 79,636 housing...

 and Jackson

Jackson County, Mississippi

There were 47,676 households out of which 37.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.70% were married couples living together, 14.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families. 20.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.10% had...

 counties.

The region was severely damaged by Hurricane Camille

Hurricane Camille

Hurricane Camille was the third and strongest tropical cyclone and second hurricane during the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season. The second of three catastrophic Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the United States during the 20th century , which it did near the mouth of the Mississippi River...

 in 1969 and again by Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

 in 2005.

Although the broad reference is to an entire region of the state, this phrase is most commonly used as a general replacement for the names of any or all towns which lie either directly on the coastline or along one of its bays, but not for towns in northern regions of the three coastal counties. The relevant towns include, from west to east, Waveland

Waveland, Mississippi

Waveland is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The City of Waveland was incorporated in 1972. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 6,674...

, Bay St. Louis

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Bay Saint Louis is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,209. It is the county seat of Hancock County...

, Pass Christian

Pass Christian, Mississippi

Pass Christian , nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, along the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Long Beach

Long Beach, Mississippi

Long Beach is a city located in Harrison County, Mississippi, USA. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Gulfport

Gulfport, Mississippi

Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...

, Biloxi

Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....

, D'Iberville

D'Iberville, Mississippi

D'Iberville is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, immediately north of Biloxi, across the back bay. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, Ocean Springs

Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, about east of Biloxi. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,225 at the 2000 census...

, Gautier

Gautier, Mississippi

Gautier is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, along the Gulf of Mexico west of Pascagoula. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 11,681 at the 2000 census. In 2002, Gautier annexed land nearly doubling its population to...

, Pascagoula

Pascagoula, Mississippi

Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...

 and Moss Point

Moss Point, Mississippi

Moss Point is a city, north of Pascagoula, in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 17,653 at the 2000 census.On August 29, 2005, Moss Point was hit by the strong east side of Hurricane Katrina, and much of Moss Point was flooded or destroyed .-Geography:Moss Point is...

.