117-643: The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America , rising in the High Plains of eastern Colorado and flowing east 453 miles (729 km) through the U.S. states of Nebraska and Kansas . The Republican River is formed by the confluence of the North Fork Republican River and the Arikaree River just north of Haigler in Dundy County, Nebraska . It joins with
234-451: A United States Supreme Court case (Kansas vs. Nebraska and Colorado) involving a water-use dispute under the Compact. On July 9, 1902, the river flooded near Concordia, Kansas , breaking a dam and re-routing the river by a quarter-mile (about half a kilometer). The storm of May 31 and June 1, 1935, (called "Nebraska's Deadliest Flood") dumped an average rainfall of 9 inches (230 mm) on
351-582: A lake , an ocean , or another river. A stream refers to water that flows in a natural channel , a geographic feature that can contain flowing water. A stream may also be referred to as a watercourse. The study of the movement of water as it occurs on Earth is called hydrology , and their effect on the landscape is covered by geomorphology . Rivers are part of the water cycle , the continuous processes by which water moves about Earth. This means that all water that flows in rivers must ultimately come from precipitation . The sides of rivers have land that
468-536: A trip hammer , and grind grains with a millstone . In the Middle Ages , water mills began to automate many aspects of manual labor , and spread rapidly. By 1300, there were at least 10,000 mills in England alone. A medieval watermill could do the work of 30–60 human workers. Water mills were often used in conjunction with dams to focus and increase the speed of the water. Water wheels continued to be used up to and through
585-715: A boat along certain stretches. In these religions, such as that of the Altai in Russia , the river is considered a living being that must be afforded respect. Rivers are some of the most sacred places in Hinduism. There is archeological evidence that mass ritual bathing in rivers at least 5,000 years ago in the Indus river valley . While most rivers in India are revered, the Ganges is most sacred. The river has
702-515: A central role in various Hindu myths, and its water is said to have properties of healing as well as absolution from sins. Hindus believe that when the cremated remains of a person is released into the Ganges, their soul is released from the mortal world. Freshwater fish make up 40% of the world's fish species, but 20% of these species are known to have gone extinct in recent years. Human uses of rivers make these species especially vulnerable. Dams and other engineered changes to rivers can block
819-408: A continuous flow of water throughout the year. This may be because an arid climate is too dry depending on the season to support a stream, or because a river is seasonally frozen in the winter (such as in an area with substantial permafrost ), or in the headwaters of rivers in mountains, where snowmelt is required to fuel the river. These rivers can appear in a variety of climates, and still provide
936-564: A habitat for aquatic life and perform other ecological functions. Subterranean rivers may flow underground through flooded caves. This can happen in karst systems, where rock dissolves to form caves. These rivers provide a habitat for diverse microorganisms and have become an important target of study by microbiologists . Other rivers and streams have been covered over or converted to run in tunnels due to human development. These rivers do not typically host any life, and are often used only for stormwater or flood control. One such example
1053-495: A large scale. This has been attributed to unusually large floods destroying infrastructure; however, there is evidence that permanent changes to climate causing higher aridity and lower river flow may have been the determining factor in what river civilizations succeeded or dissolved. Water wheels began to be used at least 2,000 years ago to harness the energy of rivers. Water wheels turn an axle that can supply rotational energy to move water into aqueducts , work metal using
1170-548: A peak in the 1970s, when between two or three dams were completed every day, and has since begun to decline. New dam projects are primarily focused in China , India , and other areas in Asia . The first civilizations of Earth were born on floodplains between 5,500 and 3,500 years ago. The freshwater, fertile soil, and transportation provided by rivers helped create the conditions for complex societies to emerge. Three such civilizations were
1287-866: A ritualistic sense has been compared to the Christian ritual of baptism , famously the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River . Floods also appear in Norse mythology , where the world is said to emerge from a void that eleven rivers flowed into. Aboriginal Australian religion and Mesoamerican mythology also have stories of floods, some of which contain no survivors, unlike the Abrahamic flood. Along with mythological rivers, religions have also cared for specific rivers as sacred rivers. The Ancient Celtic religion saw rivers as goddesses. The Nile had many gods attached to it. The tears of
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#17328441043811404-425: A river can take several forms. Tidal rivers (often part of an estuary ) have their levels rise and fall with the tide . Since the levels of these rivers are often already at or near sea level, the flow of alluvium and the brackish water that flows in these rivers may be either upriver or downriver depending on the time of day. Rivers that are not tidal may form deltas that continuously deposit alluvium into
1521-460: A section of the river behind them into a lake or reservoir. This can provide nearby cities with a predictable supply of drinking water. Hydroelectricity is desirable as a form of renewable energy that does not require any inputs beyond the river itself. Dams are very common worldwide, with at least 75,000 higher than 6 feet (1.8 m) in the U.S. Globally, reservoirs created by dams cover 193,500 square miles (501,000 km ). Dam-building reached
1638-682: A series of dams and large reservoir lakes have been built on the Arkansas and its intersecting tributaries, including the Canadian , Verdigris , Neosho (Grand) , Illinois , and Poteau rivers. These locks and dams enable the river to be navigable by barges and large river craft downriver of Muskogee, Oklahoma , where the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System joins the Verdigris River. Into western Arkansas ,
1755-698: A site in the Tensas Basin , show that part of the river's meander belt flowed through up to 3200 BCE. While it was previously thought that this relict channel was active at the same time as another relict of the Mississippi River 's meander belt, it has been shown that this channel of the Arkansas was inactive approximately 400 years before the Mississippi channel was active. The Arkansas has three distinct sections in its long path through central North America. At its headwaters beginning near Leadville , Colorado ,
1872-438: A water body is that body's riparian zone . Plants in the riparian zone of a river help stabilize its banks to prevent erosion and filter alluvium deposited by the river on the shore, including processing the nitrogen and other nutrients it contains. Forests in a riparian zone also provide important animal habitats . River ecosystems have also been categorized based on the variety of aquatic life they can sustain, also known as
1989-504: A water cycle that involved precipitation. The term flumen , in planetary geology , refers to channels on Saturn 's moon Titan that may carry liquid. Titan's rivers flow with liquid methane and ethane . There are river valleys that exhibit wave erosion , seas, and oceans. Scientists hope to study these systems to see how coasts erode without the influence of human activity, something that isn't possible when studying terrestrial rivers. Arkansas River The Arkansas River
2106-445: Is a tributary , and the place they meet is a confluence . Rivers must flow to lower altitudes due to gravity . The bed of a river is typically within a river valley between hills or mountains . Rivers flowing through an impermeable section of land such as rocks will erode the slopes on the sides of the river. When a river carves a plateau or a similar high-elevation area, a canyon can form, with cliffs on either side of
2223-602: Is a major tributary of the Mississippi River . It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado , Kansas , Oklahoma , and Arkansas . The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas River Valley. The headwaters derive from the snowpack in the Sawatch and Mosquito mountain ranges. It flows east into Kansas and finally through Oklahoma and Arkansas, where it meets
2340-515: Is a natural freshwater stream that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation , such as an ocean , lake , or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it runs out of water, or only flow during certain seasons. Rivers are regulated by the water cycle , the processes by which water moves around the Earth. Water first enters rivers through precipitation , whether from rainfall,
2457-496: Is also important for the lumber industry , as logs can be shipped via river. Countries with dense forests and networks of rivers like Sweden have historically benefited the most from this method of trade. The rise of highways and the automobile has made this practice less common. One of the first large canals was the Canal du Midi , connecting rivers within France to create a path from
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#17328441043812574-552: Is an ancient dam built on the Nile 4,500 years ago. The Ancient Roman civilization used aqueducts to transport water to urban areas . Spanish Muslims used mills and water wheels beginning in the seventh century. Between 130 and 1492, larger dams were built in Japan, Afghanistan, and India, including 20 dams higher than 15 metres (49 ft). Canals began to be cut in Egypt as early as 3000 BC, and
2691-448: Is at a higher elevation than the river itself, and in these areas, water flows downhill into the river. The headwaters of a river are the smaller streams that feed a river, and make up the river's source. These streams may be small and flow rapidly down the sides of mountains . All of the land uphill of a river that feeds it with water in this way is in that river's drainage basin or watershed. A ridge of higher elevation land
2808-405: Is because any natural impediment to the flow of the river may cause the current to deflect in a different direction. When this happens, the alluvium carried by the river can build up against this impediment, redirecting the course of the river. The flow is then directed against the opposite bank of the river, which will erode into a more concave shape to accommodate the flow. The bank will still block
2925-453: Is correlated with and thus can be used to predict certain data points related to rivers, such as the size of the drainage basin (drainage area), and the length of the channel. The ecosystem of a river includes the life that lives in its water, on its banks, and in the surrounding land. The width of the channel of a river, its velocity, and how shaded it is by nearby trees. Creatures in a river ecosystem may be divided into many roles based on
3042-497: Is in part because of a projected loss of snowpack in mountains, meaning that melting snow can't replenish rivers during warm summer months, leading to lower water levels. Lower-level rivers also have warmer temperatures, threatening species like salmon that prefer colder upstream temperatures. Attempts have been made to regulate the exploitation of rivers to preserve their ecological functions. Many wetland areas have become protected from development. Water restrictions can prevent
3159-402: Is part of permafrost ice caps, or trace amounts of water vapor in the atmosphere. However, there is evidence that rivers flowed on Mars for at least 100,000 years. The Hellas Planitia is a crater left behind by an impact from an asteroid. It has sedimentary rock that was formed 3.7 billion years ago, and lava fields that are 3.3 billion years old. High resolution images of the surface of
3276-588: Is permitted only on publicly owned rivers. The State of Kansas owns only the Kansas and Arkansas Rivers as well as the portion of the Missouri River adjoining the northeastern corner of the state. As such, the limit of public river access is at the mouth of the Republican River. A public boat access ramp was opened on the mouth of the Republican River in 2009 just upstream of the railroad bridge, providing access to
3393-616: Is rarely static, the exact location of a river border may be called into question by countries. The Rio Grande between the United States and Mexico is regulated by the International Boundary and Water Commission to manage the right to fresh water from the river, as well as mark the exact location of the border. Up to 60% of fresh water used by countries comes from rivers that cross international borders. This can cause disputes between countries that live upstream and downstream of
3510-612: Is that of the Mississippi River , whose drainage basin covers 40% of the contiguous United States . The river was then used for shipping crops from the American Midwest and cotton from the American South to other states as well as the Atlantic Ocean. The role of urban rivers has evolved from when they were a center of trade, food, and transportation to modern times when these uses are less necessary. Rivers remain central to
3627-539: Is the Sunswick Creek in New York City, which was covered in the 1800s and now exists only as a sewer-like pipe. While rivers may flow into lakes or man-made features such as reservoirs , the water they contain will always tend to flow down toward the ocean . However, if human activity siphons too much water away from a river for other uses, the riverbed may run dry before reaching the sea. The outlets mouth of
Republican River - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-808: Is what typically separates drainage basins; water on one side of a ridge will flow into one set of rivers, and water on the other side will flow into another. One example of this is the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Rocky Mountains . Water on the western side of the divide flows into the Pacific Ocean , whereas water on the other side flows into the Atlantic Ocean . Not all precipitation flows directly into rivers; some water seeps into underground aquifers . These, in turn, can still feed rivers via
3861-587: The 2024 Summer Olympics . Another example is the restoration of the Isar in Munich from being a fully canalized channel with hard embankments to being wider with naturally sloped banks and vegetation. This has improved wildlife habitat in the Isar, and provided more opportunities for recreation in the river. As a natural barrier , rivers are often used as a border between countries , cities, and other territories . For example,
3978-479: The Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea . The nineteenth century saw canal-building become more common, with the U.S. building 4,400 miles (7,100 km) of canals by 1830. Rivers began to be used by cargo ships at a larger scale, and these canals were used in conjunction with river engineering projects like dredging and straightening to ensure the efficient flow of goods. One of the largest such projects
4095-492: The Industrial Revolution as a source of power for textile mills and other factories, but were eventually supplanted by steam power . Rivers became more industrialized with the growth of technology and the human population . As fish and water could be brought from elsewhere, and goods and people could be transported via railways , pre-industrial river uses diminished in favor of more complex uses. This meant that
4212-755: The Lamari River in New Guinea separates the Angu and the Fore people in New Guinea. The two cultures speak different languages and rarely mix. 23% of international borders are large rivers (defined as those over 30 meters wide). The traditional northern border of the Roman Empire was the Danube , a river that today forms the border of Hungary and Slovakia . Since the flow of a river
4329-534: The Mississippi River from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin toward the Gulf of Mexico, but turned back at the mouth of the Arkansas River. By that time, they had encountered Native Americans carrying European trinkets and feared confrontation with Spanish conquistadors. Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe , a French trader, explorer, and nobleman had led an expedition into what is now Oklahoma in 1718–19. His original objective
4446-417: The Mississippi River near Napoleon, Arkansas . Water flow in the Arkansas River (as measured in central Kansas ) has dropped from approximately 248 cubic feet per second (7.0 m /s) average from 1944–1963 to 53 cubic feet per second (1.5 m /s) average from 1984–2003, largely because of the pumping of groundwater for irrigation in eastern Colorado and western Kansas . Important cities along
4563-517: The Nile and the Ganges . The Quran describes these four rivers as flowing with water, milk, wine, and honey, respectively. The book of Genesis also contains a story of a great flood . Similar myths are present in the Epic of Gilgamesh , Sumerian mythology, and in other cultures. In Genesis, the flood's role was to cleanse Earth of the wrongdoing of humanity. The act of water working to cleanse humans in
4680-558: The River Continuum Concept . "Shredders" are organisms that consume this organic material. The role of a "grazer" or "scraper" organism is to feed on the algae that collects on rocks and plants. "Collectors" consume the detritus of dead organisms. Lastly, predators feed on living things to survive. The river can then be modeled by the availability of resources for each creature's role. A shady area with deciduous trees might experience frequent deposits of organic matter in
4797-608: The River Lethe to forget their previous life. Rivers also appear in descriptions of paradise in Abrahamic religions , beginning with the story of Genesis . A river beginning in the Garden of Eden waters the garden and then splits into four rivers that flow to provide water to the world. These rivers include the Tigris and Euphrates , and two rivers that are possibly apocryphal but may refer to
Republican River - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-526: The Santa Fe Trail followed the Arkansas through much of Kansas, picking it up near Great Bend and continuing through to La Junta, Colorado . Some users elected to take the challenging Cimarron Cutoff starting at Cimarron, Kansas . During the American Civil War, each side tried to prevent the other from using the Arkansas River and its tributaries as a route for moving reinforcements. Initially,
5031-767: The Smoky Hill River at Junction City, Kansas to form the Kansas River . Some cities along the river are McCook, Nebraska , Clay Center, Kansas , Concordia, Kansas and Junction City, Kansas . Near Concordia is the Republican River Pegram Truss , a bridge that goes over the Republican River that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The river was named after a branch of Pawnee Indians known as "the Republicans". As early as 1785,
5148-542: The South Fork Republican River immediately southeast of Benkelman, Nebraska . All three tributaries originate in the High Plains of northeastern Colorado . From the confluence, the river flows generally eastward along the southern border of Nebraska , passing through Swanson Reservoir and Harlan County Reservoir before curving southward into the Smoky Hills region of Kansas . The Republican River joins
5265-753: The Sumerians in the Tigris–Euphrates river system , the Ancient Egyptian civilization in the Nile, and the Indus Valley Civilization on the Indus River . The desert climates of the surrounding areas made these societies especially reliant on rivers for survival, leading to people clustering in these areas to form the first cities . It is also thought that these civilizations were the first to organize
5382-599: The Tulsa Port of Catoosa on the Verdigris River , enters the Arkansas River near Muskogee, and runs via an extensive lock and dam system to the Mississippi River. Through Oklahoma and Arkansas, dams which artificially deepen and widen the river to sustain commercial barge traffic and recreational use give the river the appearance of a series of reservoirs. The McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System diverts from
5499-521: The U.S.–Mexico border from the Adams–Onís Treaty (in force 1821) until the Texas Annexation or Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . The river is alternatively pronounced / ɑːr ˈ k æ n z ə s / ar- KAN -zəs or / ˈ ɑːr k ən s ɔː / AR -kən-saw . The path of the Arkansas River has changed over time. Sediments from the river found in a palaeochannel next to Nolan,
5616-485: The climate . The alluvium carried by rivers, laden with minerals, is deposited into the floodplain when the banks spill over, providing new nutrients to the soil, allowing them to support human activity like farming as well as a host of plant and animal life. Deposited sediment from rivers can form temporary or long-lasting fluvial islands . These islands exist in almost every river. About half of all waterways on Earth are intermittent rivers , which do not always have
5733-665: The cultural identity of cities and nations. Famous examples include the River Thames 's relationship to London , the Seine to Paris , and the Hudson River to New York City . The restoration of water quality and recreation to urban rivers has been a goal of modern administrations. For example, swimming was banned in the Seine for over 100 years due to concerns about pollution and the spread of E. coli , until cleanup efforts to allow its use in
5850-478: The discharge of a river, the amount of water passing through it at a particular time. The flow of a river can act as a means of transportation for plant and animal species, as well as a barrier. For example, the Amazon River is so wide in parts that the variety of species on either side of its basin are distinct. Some fish may swim upstream to spawn as part of a seasonal migration . Species that travel from
5967-465: The extinction of some species, and lowered the amount of alluvium flowing through rivers. Decreased snowfall from climate change has resulted in less water available for rivers during the summer. Regulation of pollution, dam removal , and sewage treatment have helped to improve water quality and restore river habitats. A river is a natural flow of freshwater that flows on or through land towards another body of water downhill. This flow can be into
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#17328441043816084-402: The runoff of water down a slope, the melting of glaciers or snow , or seepage from aquifers beneath the surface of the Earth. Rivers flow in channeled watercourses and merge in confluences to form drainage basins , areas where surface water eventually flows to a common outlet. Rivers have a great effect on the landscape around them. They may regularly overflow their banks and flood
6201-436: The sea . The sediment yield of a river is the quantity of sand per unit area within a watershed that is removed over a period of time. The monitoring of the sediment yield of a river is important for ecologists to understand the health of its ecosystems, the rate of erosion of the river's environment, and the effects of human activity. Rivers rarely run in a straight direction, instead preferring to bend or meander . This
6318-521: The water table , the groundwater beneath the surface of the land stored in the soil . Water flows into rivers in places where the river's elevation is lower than that of the water table. This phenomenon is why rivers can still flow even during times of drought . Rivers are also fed by the melting of snow glaciers present in higher elevation regions. In summer months, higher temperatures melt snow and ice, causing additional water to flow into rivers. Glacier melt can supplement snow melt in times like
6435-540: The 1860s. Prior to 1864, the Kansas River was publicly navigable under Kansas law. A side-wheel steamboat of 125 tons burden, Financier No. 2 , reached the Republican River in 1855 and ascended it some 40 miles. However, in 1864, railroad interests passed a bill through the Kansas Legislature entitled, "An act declaring the Kansas, Republican, Smoky Hill, Solomon, and Big Blue rivers not navigable, and authorizing
6552-582: The Arkansas River 2.5 mi (4.0 km) upstream of the Wilbur D. Mills Dam to avoid the long winding route which the lower Arkansas River follows. This circuitous portion of the Arkansas River between the Wilbur D. Mills Dam and the Mississippi River was historically bypassed by river vessels. Early steamboats instead followed a network of rivers—known as the Arkansas Post Canal—;which flowed north of
6669-458: The Arkansas River as a supply route. In September 1864, a body of Confederate irregulars led by General Stand Watie (Cherokee) successfully ambushed a Union supply ship bound for Fort Gibson. The vessel was destroyed, and a part of its cargo was looted by the Confederates. By 1890, water from the Arkansas River was being used to irrigate more than 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of farmland in Kansas. By 1910, irrigation projects in Colorado had caused
6786-474: The Arkansas River for thousands of years. The first Europeans to see the river were members of the Spanish Coronado expedition on June 29, 1541. Also in the 1540s, Hernando de Soto discovered the junction of the Arkansas with the Mississippi. The Spanish originally called the river Napeste . "The name "Arkansas" was first applied by French Father Jacques Marquette , who called the river Akansa in his journal of 1673. The Joliet-Marquette expedition travelled
6903-436: The Arkansas River in central Colorado have been known for exceptional trout fishing, particularly fly fishing , since the 19th century, when greenback cutthroat trout dominated the river. Today, brown trout dominate the river, which also contains rainbow trout . Trout Unlimited considers the Arkansas one of the top 100 trout streams in America, a reputation the river has had since the 1950s. From Leadville to Pueblo,
7020-425: The Arkansas River include Canon City , Pueblo , La Junta , and Lamar, Colorado ; Garden City , Dodge City , Hutchinson , and Wichita, Kansas ; Tulsa, Oklahoma ; and Fort Smith and Little Rock, Arkansas . The May 2002 I-40 bridge disaster took place on I-40 's crossing of Kerr Reservoir on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma . Since 1902, Kansas has claimed that Colorado takes too much of
7137-414: The Arkansas River is serviced by numerous fly shops and guides operating in Buena Vista, Salida, Cañon City, and Pueblo. Colorado Parks and Wildlife provides regular online fishing reports for the river. A fish kill occurred on December 29, 2010, in which an estimated 100,000 freshwater drum lined the Arkansas River bank . An investigation, conducted by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, found
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#17328441043817254-545: The Arkansas River, reaching a place called Arkansas Post , about 60 miles (97 km) above the confluence of the Arkansas and the Mississippi rivers. In mid-April 1822, the Robert Thompson , towing a keelboat, was the first steamboat to navigate the Arkansas as far as Fort Smith. For five years, Fort Smith was known as the head of navigation for steamboats on the river. It lost the title to Fort Gibson in April 1832, when three steamboats, Velocipede , Scioto, and Catawba , all arrived at Fort Gibson later that month. Later,
7371-425: The Arkansas runs as a steep fast-flowing mountain river through the Rockies in its narrow valley, dropping 4,600 feet (1,400 m) in 120 miles (190 km). This section supports extensive whitewater rafting , including The Numbers (near Granite, Colorado ), Brown's Canyon , and the Royal Gorge . At Cañon City, Colorado , the Arkansas River valley widens and flattens markedly. Just west of Pueblo, Colorado ,
7488-424: The Arkansas. These included flatboats ( bateaus ) and keelboats . Along with the pirogues, they transported piles of deer, bear, otter, beaver, and buffalo skins up and down the river. Agricultural products such as corn, rice, dried peaches, beans, peanuts, snakeroot, sarsaparilla, and ginseng had grown in economic importance. On March 31, 1820, the Comet became the first steamboat to successfully navigate part of
7605-411: The Mississippi River. At 1,469 miles (2,364 km), it is the sixth-longest river in the United States , the second-longest tributary in the Mississippi– Missouri system, and the 47th longest river in the world . Its origin is in the Rocky Mountains in Lake County, Colorado , near Leadville . In 1859, placer gold discovered in the Leadville area brought thousands seeking to strike it rich, but
7722-414: The Spanish and French had identified one of the villages of the Pawnee people as aldea de la Republica ( little village of the Republic ). A French traders' custom was to name rivers for the tribal villages located on their banks. In this way, the north fork of the Kansas River was named Fourche des Republiques or Fork of the Republics . The Kitkehahkis Pawnee villages farmed corn, beans, and pumpkin in
7839-478: The Union Army abandoned its forts in the Indian Territory, including Fort Gibson and Fort Smith, to maximize its strength for campaigns elsewhere. The Confederate Army sent troops from Texas to support its Native American allies. Union troops returned to the area later in the war, after defeating the Confederates at the Battle of Pea Ridge and the Battle of Fort Smith . They began recovering the position it had previously abandoned, most notably Fort Gibson and reopened
7956-459: The United States annexed Texas after the Mexican–American War , in 1846. The treaty was made shortly after the "Old Settler" Cherokee were pushed out of Texas and moved near what became known as Webbers Falls on the Arkansas River. They planned to reunite with the Cherokee who had moved there on the Trail of Tears in 1839. That area, then part of Arkansas Territory , would become Indian Territory and later Oklahoma . This area had long been
8073-434: The areas around the Great Lakes began exploring the Mississippi and some of its northern tributaries. They soon learned that the birchbark canoes, which had served them so well on the northern waterways, were too light for use on southern rivers such as the Arkansas. They turned to making and using dugout canoes, which they called pirogues , made by hollowing out the trunks of cottonwood trees. Cottonwoods are plentiful along
8190-695: The bodies of humans and animals worldwide, as well as in the soil, with potentially negative health effects. Research into how to remove it from the environment, and how harmful exposure is, is ongoing. Fertilizer from farms can lead to a proliferation of algae on the surface of rivers and oceans, which prevents oxygen and light from dissolving into water, making it impossible for underwater life to survive in these so-called dead zones . Urban rivers are typically surrounded by impermeable surfaces like stone, asphalt , and concrete. Cities often have storm drains that direct this water to rivers. This can cause flooding risk as large amounts of water are directed into
8307-481: The bridging of the same." Railroads were thus permitted to bridge or dam the Republican as if it were never declared navigable. The Kansas Pacific Railway reached the fork of the Republican in 1866, crossing into the Junction City town site. The Junction City and Fort Kearney Railroad was constructed up the valley of the Republican to Clay Center in 1873. The 1864 law was repealed in 1913; however, under Kansas Law, public access, whether for transport or recreation,
8424-548: The compact did not stop further disputes by the two states over water rights to the river. The Kansas–Oklahoma Arkansas River Basin Compact was created in 1965 to promote mutual consideration and equity over water use in the basin shared by those states. The Kansas–Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission was established, charged with administering the compact and reducing pollution. The compact was approved and implemented by both states in 1970 and has been in force since then. The McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System begins at
8541-405: The complete draining of rivers. Limits on the construction of dams, as well as dam removal , can restore the natural habitats of river species. Regulators can also ensure regular releases of water from dams to keep animal habitats supplied with water. Limits on pollutants like pesticides can help improve water quality. Today, the surface of Mars does not have liquid water. All water on Mars
8658-463: The easily recovered placer gold was quickly exhausted. The Arkansas River's mouth is at Napoleon, Arkansas , and its drainage basin covers nearly 170,000 square miles (440,000 km ). Its volume is much smaller than the Missouri and Ohio rivers, with a mean discharge of about 40,000 cubic feet per second (1,100 m /s). The Arkansas from its headwaters to the 100th meridian west formed part of
8775-436: The effect of normalizing the effects of rivers; the greatest floods are smaller and more predictable, and larger sections are open for navigation by boats and other watercraft. A major effect of river engineering has been a reduced sediment output of large rivers. For example, the Mississippi River produced 400 million tons of sediment per year. Due to the construction of reservoirs , sediment buildup in man-made levees , and
8892-617: The fertile Republican valley floor but seasonally left to hunt buffalo in the plains to the west and south. The Kitkehahkis, or Republican Pawnee, occasionally abandoned and relocated various villages along the Republican River. In 1806, first the Spanish and then the Americans journeyed to the large Kitkehahkis village on Republican River, the Pike-Pawnee Village Site then near the present Guide Rock, Nebraska . Both parties were seeking
9009-826: The first human civilizations . The organisms that live around or in a river such as fish , aquatic plants , and insects have different roles, including processing organic matter and predation . Rivers have produced abundant resources for humans, including food , transportation , drinking water , and recreation. Humans have engineered rivers to prevent flooding, irrigate crops, perform work with water wheels , and produce hydroelectricity from dams. People associate rivers with life and fertility and have strong religious, political, social, and mythological attachments to them. Rivers and river ecosystems are threatened by water pollution , climate change , and human activity. The construction of dams, canals , levees , and other engineered structures has eliminated habitats, has caused
9126-451: The fish zonation concept. Smaller rivers can only sustain smaller fish that can comfortably fit in its waters, whereas larger rivers can contain both small fish and large fish. This means that larger rivers can host a larger variety of species. This is analogous to the species-area relationship , the concept of larger habitats being host to more species. In this case, it is known as the species-discharge relationship, referring specifically to
9243-665: The floating of wood on rivers to transport it, was especially important. Rivers also were an important source of drinking water . For civilizations built around rivers, fish were an important part of the diet of humans. Some rivers supported fishing activities, but were ill-suited to farming, such as those in the Pacific Northwest . Other animals that live in or near rivers like frogs , mussels , and beavers could provide food and valuable goods such as fur . Humans have been building infrastructure to use rivers for thousands of years. The Sadd el-Kafara dam near Cairo , Egypt,
9360-412: The flow of the river beneath its surface. These help rivers flow straighter by increasing the speed of the water at the middle of the channel, helping to control floods. Levees are also used for this purpose. They can be thought of as dams constructed on the sides of rivers, meant to hold back water from flooding the surrounding area during periods of high rainfall. They are often constructed by building up
9477-399: The flow, causing it to reflect in the other direction. Thus, a bend in the river is created. Rivers may run through low, flat regions on their way to the sea. These places may have floodplains that are periodically flooded when there is a high level of water running through the river. These events may be referred to as "wet seasons' and "dry seasons" when the flooding is predictable due to
9594-650: The form of leaves. In this type of ecosystem, collectors and shredders will be most active. As the river becomes deeper and wider, it may move slower and receive more sunlight . This supports invertebrates and a variety of fish , as well as scrapers feeding on algae. Further downstream, the river may get most of its energy from organic matter that was already processed upstream by collectors and shredders. Predators may be more active here, including fish that feed on plants, plankton , and other fish. The flood pulse concept focuses on habitats that flood seasonally, including lakes and marshes . The land that interfaces with
9711-502: The goddess Isis were said to be the cause of the river's yearly flooding, itself personified by the goddess Hapi . Many African religions regard certain rivers as the originator of life. In Yoruba religion , Yemọja rules over the Ogun River in modern-day Nigeria and is responsible for creating all children and fish. Some sacred rivers have religious prohibitions attached to them, such as not being allowed to drink from them or ride in
9828-428: The irrigation of desert environments for growing food. Growing food at scale allowed people to specialize in other roles, form hierarchies, and organize themselves in new ways, leading to the birth of civilization. In pre-industrial society , rivers were a source of transportation and abundant resources. Many civilizations depended on what resources were local to them to survive. Shipping of commodities, especially
9945-434: The late summer, when there may be less snow left to melt, helping to ensure that the rivers downstream of the glaciers have a continuous supply of water. Rivers flow downhill, with their direction determined by gravity . A common misconception holds that all or most rivers flow from North to South, but this is not true. As rivers flow downstream, they eventually merge to form larger rivers. A river that feeds into another
10062-469: The level of river branching in a drainage basin. Several systems of stream order exist, one of which is the Strahler number . In this system, the first tributaries of a river are 1st order rivers. When two 1st order rivers merge, the resulting river is 2nd order. If a river of a higher order and a lower order merge, the order is incremented from whichever of the previous rivers had the higher order. Stream order
10179-561: The local ecosystems of rivers needed less protection as humans became less reliant on them for their continued flourishing. River engineering began to develop projects that enabled industrial hydropower , canals for the more efficient movement of goods, as well as projects for flood prevention . River transportation has historically been significantly cheaper and faster than transportation by land. Rivers helped fuel urbanization as goods such as grain and fuel could be floated downriver to supply cities with resources. River transportation
10296-571: The lower Arkansas River and followed a shorter and more direct route to the Mississippi River. When the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System was constructed between 1963 and 1970, the Arkansas Post Canal was significantly improved, while the lower Arkansas River continued to be bypassed by commercial vessels. Many nations of Native Americans lived near, or along, the 1,450-mile (2,334-km) stretch of
10413-407: The mechanical shadoof began to be used to raise the elevation of water. Drought years harmed crop yields, and leaders of society were incentivized to ensure regular water and food availability to remain in power. Engineering projects like the shadoof and canals could help prevent these crises. Despite this, there is evidence that floodplain-based civilizations may have been abandoned occasionally at
10530-400: The migration routes of fish and destroy habitats. Rivers that flow freely from headwaters to the sea have better water quality, and also retain their ability to transport nutrient-rich alluvium and other organic material downstream, keeping the ecosystem healthy. The creation of a lake changes the habitat of that portion of water, and blocks the transportation of sediment, as well as preventing
10647-399: The natural meandering of the river. Dams block the migration of fish such as salmon for which fish ladder and other bypass systems have been attempted, but these are not always effective. Pollution from factories and urban areas can also damage water quality. " Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a widely used chemical that breaks down at a slow rate. It has been found in
10764-429: The natural terrain with soil or clay. Some levees are supplemented with floodways, channels used to redirect floodwater away from farms and populated areas. Dams restrict the flow of water through a river. They can be built for navigational purposes, providing a higher level of water upstream for boats to travel in. They may also be used for hydroelectricity , or power generation from rivers. Dams typically transform
10881-425: The plain show evidence of a river network, and even river deltas. These images reveal channels formed in the rock, recognized by geologists who study rivers on Earth as being formed by rivers, as well as "bench and slope" landforms, outcroppings of rock that show evidence of river erosion. Not only do these formations suggest that rivers once existed, but that they flowed for extensive time periods, and were part of
10998-448: The removal of natural banks replaced with revetments , this sediment output has been reduced by 60%. The most basic river projects involve the clearing of obstructions like fallen trees. This can scale up to dredging , the excavation of sediment buildup in a channel, to provide a deeper area for navigation. These activities require regular maintenance as the location of the river banks changes over time, floods bring foreign objects into
11115-530: The reverse, death and destruction, especially through floods . This power has caused rivers to have a central role in religion , ritual , and mythology . In Greek mythology , the underworld is bordered by several rivers. Ancient Greeks believed that the souls of those who perished had to be borne across the River Styx on a boat by Charon in exchange for money. Souls that were judged to be good were admitted to Elysium and permitted to drink water from
11232-599: The river enters the Great Plains . Through the rest of Colorado , Kansas , and much of Oklahoma , it is a typical Great Plains riverway, with wide, shallow banks subject to seasonal flooding and periods of dwindling flow. Tributaries include the Cimarron and the Salt Fork Arkansas rivers. In eastern Oklahoma, the river begins to widen further into a more contained consistent channel. To maintain more reliable flow rates,
11349-446: The river path works between the encroaching Boston and Ouachita mountains, including many isolated, flat-topped mesas, buttes, or monadnocks such as Mount Nebo , Petit Jean Mountain , and Mount Magazine , the highest point in the state. The river valley expands as it encounters much flatter land beginning just west of Little Rock, Arkansas . It continues eastward across the plains and forests of eastern Arkansas until it flows into
11466-588: The river to stop flowing in July and August. Flooding in 1927 severely damaged or destroyed nearly every levee downstream of Fort Smith, and led to the development of the Arkansas River Flood Control Association. It also resulted in the Federal government assigning responsibility for flood control and navigation on the Arkansas River to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE). The headwaters of
11583-471: The river's water; it has filed numerous lawsuits over this issue in the U.S. Supreme Court that continue to this day, generally under the name of Kansas v. Colorado . The problems over the possession and use of Arkansas River water by Colorado and Kansas led to the creation of an interstate compact or agreement between the two states. While Congress approved the Arkansas River Compact in 1949,
11700-586: The river's watershed. This storm was also unique in that it moved in the same direction as the drainage basin . As a result, the Frenchman, Red Willow, Medicine, Deer, Muddy, and Turkey creeks all reached their flood peaks at the same time as the crest passed on the Republican River. According to witness accounts, the roar of the water could be heard coming down the Republican Valley 5 miles (8 km) away. Many survivors also reported that there were two crests -
11817-405: The river, and natural sediment buildup continues. Artificial channels are often constructed to "cut off" winding sections of a river with a shorter path, or to direct the flow of a river in a straighter direction. This effect, known as channelization, has made the distance required to traverse the Missouri River in 116 kilometres (72 mi) shorter. Dikes are channels built perpendicular to
11934-552: The river. Areas of a river with softer rock weather faster than areas with harder rock, causing a difference in elevation between two points of a river. This can cause the formation of a waterfall as the river's flow falls down a vertical drop. A river in a permeable area does not exhibit this behavior and may even have raised banks due to sediment. Rivers also change their landscape through their transportation of sediment , often known as alluvium when applied specifically to rivers. This debris comes from erosion performed by
12051-620: The river. A country that is downstream of another may object to the upstream country diverting too much water for agricultural uses, pollution, as well as the creation of dams that change the river's flow characteristics. For example, Egypt has an agreement with Sudan requiring a specific minimum volume of water to pass into the Nile yearly over the Aswan Dam , to maintain both countries access to water. The importance of rivers throughout human history has given them an association with life and fertility . They have also become associated with
12168-457: The rivers themselves, debris swept into rivers by rainfall, as well as erosion caused by the slow movement of glaciers. The sand in deserts and the sediment that forms bar islands is from rivers. The particle size of the debris is gradually sorted by the river, with heavier particles like rocks sinking to the bottom, and finer particles like sand or silt carried further downriver . This sediment may be deposited in river valleys or carried to
12285-412: The rivers. Due to these impermeable surfaces, these rivers often have very little alluvium carried in them, causing more erosion once the river exits the impermeable area. It has historically been common for sewage to be directed directly to rivers via sewer systems without being treated, along with pollution from industry. This has resulted in a loss of animal and plant life in urban rivers, as well as
12402-409: The sea from their mouths. Depending on the activity of waves, the strength of the river, and the strength of the tidal current, the sediment can accumulate to form new land. When viewed from above, a delta can appear to take the form of several triangular shapes as the river mouth appears to fan out from the original coastline . In hydrology , a stream order is a positive integer used to describe
12519-414: The sea to breed in freshwater rivers are anadromous. Salmon are an anadromous fish that may die in the river after spawning, contributing nutrients back to the river ecosystem. Modern river engineering involves a large-scale collection of independent river engineering structures that have the goal of flood control , improved navigation, recreation, and ecosystem management. Many of these projects have
12636-519: The spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera . In modern times, sewage treatment and controls on pollution from factories have improved the water quality of urban rivers. Climate change can change the flooding cycles and water supply available to rivers. Floods can be larger and more destructive than expected, causing damage to the surrounding areas. Floods can also wash unhealthy chemicals and sediment into rivers. Droughts can be deeper and longer, causing rivers to run dangerously low. This
12753-518: The strangers a warm welcome. La Harpe's party was honored with the calumet ceremony and spent ten days at this location. In 1988, evidence of a native village was discovered along the Arkansas River 13 miles (21 km) south of present-day Tulsa, Oklahoma . By then, the site was known as the Lasley Vore Site . French traders and trappers who had opened up trade with Indian tribes in Canada and
12870-512: The streams of the southwest and grow to large sizes. The wood is soft and easily worked with the crude tools carried by both the French and Indians. The pirogues were sturdier and could be more useful for navigating the sandbars and snags of the Southern waterways. In 1819, the Adams–Onís Treaty set the Arkansas as part of the frontier between the United States and Spanish Mexico . This continued until
12987-514: The structures in its path. Water was 20 feet (6 m) deep in some places, and the discharge was 280,000 cubic feet per second (7,900 m/s), more than 320 times the normal flow today. Estimates show 113 people killed. From 11,400 to 41,500 head of cattle were killed; one report said that carcasses littering the roads made them impassable. A total of 341 miles (549 km) of highway and 307 bridges were destroyed, and 74,500 acres (301 km) of farmland were inundated. River A river
13104-485: The surrounding area, spreading nutrients to the surrounding area. Sediment or alluvium carried by rivers shapes the landscape around it, forming deltas and islands where the flow slows down. Rivers rarely run in a straight line, instead, they bend or meander ; the locations of a river's banks can change frequently. Rivers get their alluvium from erosion , which carves rock into canyons and valleys . Rivers have sustained human and animal life for millennia, including
13221-526: The traditional territory of the Osage . They resisted the new Native Americans moving in with armed conflict. The US encouraged a peace treaty made in 1828 but the territory issue was still unresolved by the time thousands of additional Cherokee refugees moved to the area during the Trail of Tears . By the time Fort Smith was established in 1817, larger capacity watercraft became available to transport goods up and down
13338-686: The tribe's assistance in enforcing competing claims to the Louisiana Territory . Leading the much smaller American expedition, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike convinced the Kitkehahkis to accept the American Flag in place of the Spanish. In 1853, Fort Riley was established at the junction of the Republican with the Smoky Hill and Kansas Rivers. American settlement of the lower Republican River in began in
13455-611: The upper end of the Kansas River National Water Trail, a part of the National Water Trail program. Milford Lake , the largest man-made lake in Kansas, was completed on the Republican in 1967. Allocation of the water from the Republican River is governed through an agreement called the Republican River Compact, involving the states of Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado, as modified by the settlement of
13572-488: The water came up on May 28, then receded slightly, but the second crest on June 1 greatly exceeded the first. At one point, the water rose 6 feet (1.8 m) in 30 minutes and was 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m) higher than the previous record crest. One eyewitness said the water level rose in some places at 10 miles per hour or more. Another account states that the Republican rose 10 feet (3 m) in 12 minutes in McCook, destroying
13689-458: Was to establish a trading post near the present city of Texarkana, Arkansas , but he extended his trip overland as far north as the Arkansas River (which he designated as the Alcansas ). The explorer wrote that he and nine other men, including three Caddo guides and 22 horses loaded with trade goods, had come to a native settlement overlooking the river, where there were about 6,000 natives, who gave
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