The Buttahatchee River is a tributary of the Tombigbee River, about long, in northwestern Alabama and northeastern Mississippi in the United States. Via the Tombigbee River, it is part of the watershed of the Mobile River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. Course The Buttahatchee River rises in northwestern Winston County, Alabama, near the town of Delmar, and flows generally westward through Marion County, where it collects a short tributary, the West Branch Buttahatchee River. At Hamilton, the river turns to the southwest and flows through Lamar County, Alabama and Monroe County, Mississippi; its lower reach is used to define part of the boundary between Monroe and Lowndes counties. The Buttahatchee joins the Tombigbee near Columbus Air Force Base, 12 mi (19 km) north-northwest of Columbus. Name The name "Buttahatchee" is Choctaw for "sumac river", from bati, "sumac", and hahcha, "river". The Board on Geographic Names settled on "Buttahatchee River" as the river's official name and spelling in 1947. According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Buttahatchee River has also been known as: See also List of Alabama rivers List of Mississippi rivers References Rivers of Alabama Rivers of Mississippi Bodies of water of Lamar County, Alabama Landforms of Lowndes County, Mississippi Landforms of Monroe County, Mississippi Bodies of water of Marion County, Alabama Bodies of water of Winston County, Alabama Tributaries of the Tombigbee River Alabama placenames of Native American origin Mississippi placenames of Native American origin