Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of the U.S. state of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. The southern part of Illinois has a unique cultural and regional history. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region's culture is aligned more with that of the Upland South rather than the Midwest. Part of downstate Illinois, the Southern Illinois region is bordered by the two most voluminous rivers in the United States: the Mississippi River below its connecting Missouri River to the west, and the Ohio River to the east and south with the Wabash as tributary.