De Soto County

County in northwest Mississippi; area 1,251 sq km/483 sq mi; population (1990) 67,900. It is bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and the Tennessee state line to the north. Its administrative headquarters is Hernando; population (1990) 3,100. Its northwest portion is adjacent to Memphis, Tennessee, and contains the large suburb of Southaven. The remainder of the county is agricultural, forming the northernmost part of the Delta, and producing cotton, grain, beef, and dairy cattle and goods.