Pellaphalia Creek (Leake County, Mississippi)  Pellaphalia Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is a tributary to the Pearl River. "Pellaphalia" is speculated to derive from the Choctaw words "apeli" meaning hurricane or strong winds and "chalih" meaning "chop down trees" in the Choctaw language. The name is purported to mean "(long) place where a hurricane or whirlwind passed along and blew down the timber".