St. Francis River

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St. Francis River

The Saint Francis River is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary is a stream or river which flows into a Mainstem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body of water....
of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
, about 470 mi (760 km) long, in southeastern Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
and northeastern Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

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Description and course

The river rises in a region of granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of Intrusion , felsic, igneous rock rock . Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as Porphyry ....
mountains in Iron County, Missouri

Iron County, Missouri

Iron County is a county located in the Lead Belt in Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the United States Census, 2000, the county's population was 10,697....
, and flows generally southwardly through the Ozarks and the St. Francois Mountains near Missouri's highest point Taum Sauk. It forms the Missouri-Arkansas border in the bootheel

Bootheel

The Missouri Bootheel is the southeasternmost part of the state of Missouri and is called the "Bootheel" because of the shape of its boundaries....
and eventually exits the state at Missouri's lowest point in the "toe" at 241 feet. It passes through Lake Wappapello

Lake Wappapello

Lake Wappapello is a man-made lake on the St. Francis River, formed by Wappapello Dam . Created in 1941, this lake is located south of St. Louis, Missouri, Missouri....
, which is formed by a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that Reservoirs surface water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates, levees, and Dike are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions....
constructed in 1941. Below the dam the river meander

Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuosity watercourse, also known as an oxbow loop, or simply an oxbow. A meander is formed when the moving water in a river erodes the outer banks and widens its valley creating a meander....
s through cane forests and willow swamplands, transitioning from a clear stream into a slow and silt

Silt

Silt is soil or Rock derived granular material of a Particle size between sand and clay. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body....
-laden muddy river as it enters the flat lands of the Mississippi embayment

Mississippi embayment

The Mississippi embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It is essentially a northward continuation of the River delta of the Mississippi River Delta to its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois....
. In its lower course the river parallels Crowleys Ridge and is part of a navigation and flood-control project involving a network of diversion channels and ditch

Ditch

A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.In Old English language, the word dic already existed and was pronounced with a hard c in northern England and as ditch in the south....
es along it and the Castor

Castor River (Missouri)

The Castor River rises in southeastern Missouri near Fredericktown, Missouri. The river flows south to the Headwater Diversion Channel, which flows into the Mississippi River just south of Cape Girardeau, Missouri....
and Little Rivers. Below the mouth of the Little River in Poinsett County, Arkansas

Poinsett County, Arkansas

Poinsett County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2000, the population was 25,614. It is included in the Jonesboro metropolitan area....
, the St. Francis is navigable by barge

Barge

A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Most barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats....
. It joins the Mississippi River in Phillips County, Arkansas

Phillips County, Arkansas

Phillips County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2000, the population was 26,445. The county seat is Helena-West Helena, Arkansas....
, about 7 mi (11 km) north of Helena

Helena, Arkansas

Helena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the United States Census 2000, this portion of the city population was 6,323....
.

Along its course in Missouri the river flows through the Mark Twain National Forest

Mark Twain National Forest

Mark Twain National Forest is a national forest located in the southern half of Missouri. MTNF was established on September 11, 1939. It is named for author Mark Twain, a Missouri native....
and past Sam A. Baker State Park

Sam A. Baker State Park

Sam A. Baker State Park is located in the Saint Francois Mountains region of the Missouri The Ozarks. The park offers access to the St. Francis River and Big Creek for fishing, canoeing, and swimming....
and the towns of Farmington

Farmington, Missouri

Farmington is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri located 60 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri in the Lead Belt region in Missouri in the United States....
, Greenville

Greenville, Missouri

Greenville is a small, fourth-class city located on U.S. Highway 67 near the intersection with Route D and E in Wayne County, Missouri, Missouri in the United States along the St....
and Fisk

Fisk, Missouri

Fisk is a city in Butler County, Missouri, Missouri, in the United States, along the St. Francis River. The population was 363 at the 2000 census....
. In Arkansas it passes the towns of St. Francis

St. Francis, Arkansas

St. Francis is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, Arkansas, United States, along the St. Francis River. The population was 250 at the United States Census, 2000....
, Lake City

Lake City, Arkansas

Lake City is a town in Craighead County, Arkansas, Arkansas in the United States, along the St. Francis River. The population was 1,956 at the United States Census, 2000....
, Marked Tree

Marked Tree, Arkansas

Marked Tree is a city in Poinsett County, Arkansas, Arkansas in the United States, along the St. Francis River, at the mouth of the Little River ....
and Parkin

Parkin, Arkansas

Parkin is a city in Cross County, Arkansas, Arkansas, in the United States, along the St. Francis River. The population was 1,602 at the United States Census 2000....
, as well as the St. Francis National Forest.

In addition to the Little River, tributaries of the St. Francis include the Little St. Francis River, which joins it along its upper course in Missouri; the Tyronza River, which joins it in Arkansas; and the L'Anguille River

L'Anguille River

L'Anguille River is a tributary of the St. Francis River, approximately 110 mi long, in northeastern Arkansas in the United States. Via the St....
, which joins it just above its mouth.

Whitewater competitions

Beginning in 1967 the Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
Whitewater

Whitewater

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's Stream gradient drops enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white....
Championships have been held on the St. Francis River (typically between the Millstream Gardens Conservation Area and the Silver Mines Recreation Area). The events includes whitewater slalom competitions and downriver whitewater racing

Whitewater racing

Whitewater racing is a competitive discipline of canoeing in which kayaks or Canoe#Differences_from_other_paddled_boats are used to negotiate a stretch of river speedily....
competitions. Today, the Missouri Whitewater Association

Missouri Whitewater Association

The Missouri Whitewater Association is a 501 non-profit corporation which promotes paddling as a form of recreation and competition. The association has sponsored the Missouri Whitewater Championship annually since 1967 on the St....
holds the Championships annually in March, and recently celebrated the 40th year of Missouri Whitewater Championships on the St. Francis River.

Variant names

The United States Board on Geographic Names

United States Board on Geographic Names

The United States Board on Geographic Names is a United States Federal government of the United States body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geography names throughout the government of the United States....
settled on "St. Francis River" as the stream's name in 1899. According to the Geographic Names Information System

Geographic Names Information System

The is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States and its territories....
, historical names for the river have included:

Cholohollay River
El Rio San Francisco
Fiume San Francesco
Rio San Francisco

Riviere Saint Francis

Riviere des Chepoussea

San Francisco River

Saint Francois River (mentioned in the Congressional act which set the boundaries for the state including the Bootheel

Bootheel

The Missouri Bootheel is the southeasternmost part of the state of Missouri and is called the "Bootheel" because of the shape of its boundaries....
in Missouri)

St. Francis River

Description and course

Whitewater competitions

Variant names

See also