Mobile, << moh BEEL, >> River is a short river that helps drain the delta at the head of Mobile Bay in southwestern Alabama. The river begins where the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers meet. The Mobile flows southward for about 45 miles (72 kilometers) before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico through Mobile Bay. The river is connected by the Tombigbee River to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, which opened in 1985. This waterway helps link the port at Mobile with inland ports on the Tennessee and Ohio rivers. The Mobile River provides transportation for coal, wood products, and other cargo. The river was named for the Mobile, or Mabila, Indians who once lived near its mouth.
