The Pascagoula River is called the Singing River because, according to a legend that predates European contact, you can hear it hum. The traditional story — passed down through multiple tellings with variations — says the Pascagoula people walked singing into the river rather than face conquest by the Biloxi nation. The sound, a low sustained hum audible on quiet summer evenings near the river's mouth, has been reported by residents and visitors for centuries. Scientists have attributed it to fish, sand friction, or gas escaping from the riverbed. No explanation has been universally accepted. The Pascagoula people themselves are largely absent from the historical record after European contact — their name survives in the river, the city, and the legend, but the nation was scattered by the pressures of colonization and war. The river remains one of only two major undammed rivers in the lower 48 states, flowing freely from its headwaters to the Mississippi Sound. On a still evening at the mouth, people still say they can hear it.