Marais des Cygnes River

Coordinates: 38°01′39″N 94°14′39″W / 38.02750°N 94.24417°W / 38.02750; -94.24417
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marais des Cygnes River
Big Osage River, Brush Creek, Grand River, Old Aunt Mary River[1]
Map of the Osage River watershed including the Marais des Cygnes River
Location
CountryUnited States
StateKansas, Missouri
Physical characteristics
Source confluence 
 - locationLyon County, Kansas
 - coordinates38°34′05″N 95°58′28″W / 38.56806°N 95.97444°W / 38.56806; -95.97444
 - elevation1,112 ft (339 m)
MouthOsage River
 - locationVernon County, Missouri
 - coordinates38°01′39″N 94°14′39″W / 38.02750°N 94.24417°W / 38.02750; -94.24417[1]
 - elevation722 ft (220 m)
Length217 mi (349 km)
Discharge 
 - locationUSGS 06916600 near Kansas-Missouri state line[2]
 - average2,189 cu ft/s (62.0 m3/s)
 - minimum0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
 - maximum129,000 cu ft/s (3,700 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 - left110 Mile Creek, Bull Creek
 - rightPottawatomie Creek
WatershedsMarais des Cygnes-Osage-Missouri-Mississippi

The Marais des Cygnes River is a principal tributary of the Osage River. It is about 217 miles (349 km) long,[3] and runs through eastern Kansas and western Missouri in the United States. Via the Osage and Missouri rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The name Marais des Cygnes means "Marsh of the Swans" in French.[4] But the name actually comes from an Osage name “Mixa-ckau-tse” (where white swans are plentiful).[4] It was probably so named because of the trumpeter and tundra swans that were plentiful here before the late 1800s.[4] The river is notorious for flash flooding.[5] The river is referenced in the song "The River" by Chely Wright.

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Marais des Cygnes River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  2. "Water-Data Report 2013 - 06916600 Marais des Cygnes River near Kansas-Missouri State Line, KS" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  3. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2017-08-23 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 31, 2011
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge and Wildlife Area" (PDF). U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  5. "Kansas Rivers - Page 3". Legends of Kansas. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.

Other websites[change | change source]