The Pawnee River is a river in southwestern Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, about 198 miles (318.6 km) long. It is a tributary of the Arkansas River

Arkansas River

The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...

, which in turn is a branch of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

.

It rises in northwestern Gray County

Gray County, Kansas

Gray County is a county located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 6,006...

 at an elevation of 2835 feet (864.1 m), as the outflow of several agricultural drainage channels. For 20 miles (32.2 km) the river runs due north, before turning northeast near Ravanna

Ravanna, Kansas

Ravanna is an Ghost Town in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Ravanna is east-northeast of Garden City....

. The river arcs to the south and receives Buckner Creek, its main tributary at the town of Burdett

Burdett, Kansas

Burdett is a city in Pawnee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 247.-Geography:Burdett is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 256...

, then flows east past Rozel

Rozel, Kansas

Rozel is a city in Pawnee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 156.-Geography:Rozel is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

 and through Fort Larned National Historic Site

Fort Larned National Historic Site

Fort Larned National Historic Site, located six miles west of Larned, Kansas, United States, preserves Fort Larned, which operated from 1859 to 1878...

. It joins the Arkansas River on the left bank, south of the city of Larned

Larned, Kansas

Larned is a city in and the county seat of Pawnee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,054.-History:...

.

This river drains an arid farming region of about 2700 mi2 of the Great Plains

Great Plains

The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...

. Most of its flow is consumed by irrigation before it reaches the mouth, and the river dries up for periods of months at a time in most years. The land surrounding the river was originally inhabited by the Kansa

Kaw (tribe)

The Kaw Nation are an American Indian people of the central Midwestern United States. The tribe known as Kaw have also been known as the "People of the South wind", "People of water", Kansa, Kaza, Kosa, and Kasa. Their tribal language is Kansa, classified as a Siouan language.The toponym "Kansas"...

, Cheyenne

Cheyenne

Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...

, Osage

Osage

The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage".Osage can also refer to:*The Osage language, a Siouan language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation...

, Pawnee

Pawnee

Pawnee people are a Caddoan-speaking Native American tribe. They are federally recognized as the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma....

 and other tribes, the latter for which the river is named. The river was a route for the Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...

 in the 19th century, and was also the scene of Native American-U.S. wars in 1854, after which Fort Larned was established on the river to maintain a permanent military presence in the region.