The St. Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about 426 miles (686 km) long,[4] in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along the western side of the Missouri Bootheel.
Map of the St. Francis River watershed. The Castor/Whitewater headwaters (darker shade on the map) were historically part of the St. Francis watershed but are now diverted to the Mississippi.
The river rises in a region of granite mountains in Iron County, Missouri, 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 and eventually exits the state at Missouri's lowest point in the "toe" at 241 feet (73 m) above sea level. It passes through Lake Wappapello, which is formed by a dam constructed in 1941. Below the dam the river meanders through cane forests and willow wetlands or forested swamp, transitioning from a clear stream into a slow and silt-laden muddy river as it enters the flat lands of the Mississippi embayment. In its lower course the river parallels Crowleys Ridge and is part of a navigation and flood-control project that encompasses a network of diversion channels and ditches along it and the Castor and Little rivers. Below the mouth of the Little River in Poinsett County, Arkansas, the St. Francis is navigable by barge. It joins the Mississippi River in Phillips County, Arkansas, about 7 miles (11 km) north of Helena.
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, which joins it just above its mouth.
History
The river became the home of Cherokee Indians who attacked a boat on the Tennessee River on June 11, 1794 known as the Muscle Shoals Massacre and had removed to the west.[5] The Spanish authorities allowed the Indian settlement to trade and the area flourished with a population greater than Arkansas Post.
Names
The origin of the river's name is unclear. It might refer to St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order. None of the region's early explorers were Franciscans, however. One possibility is that Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit, named the river when he explored its mouth in 1673. Before his voyage down the Mississippi Marquette had spent some time at the mission of St. François Xavier, named for the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier. The spelling of the river's name shifted from "François" to "Francis" in the early 20th century. A number of place names in the region stem from the river's name, including St. Francois County and the St. Francois Mountains.[6]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Francis River (Missouri and Arkansas).
^ abU.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: St. Francis River
^Senator Pryor Announces Arkansas Projects in Water Resources Development Bill 2009-08-13 at the Wayback Machine, Senator Mark Pryor Press Releases
^"USGS Surface Water data for Arkansas: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics".
^U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 9, 2011
^Myers, Robert A. “Cherokee Pioneers in Arkansas: The St. Francis Years, 1785-1813.” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, vol. 56, no. 2, 1997, pp. 127–157. JSTOR website Retrieved 18 July 2021.
^St. Francois County, Missouri Place Names 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine, Western Historical Manuscript Collection
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: St. Francis River
Maps of Former St. Francis Lake in Northeast Arkansas
May 08, 2023
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For other uses see St Francis River disambiguation The St Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River about 426 miles 686 km long 4 in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri Arkansas state line along the western side of the Missouri Bootheel St Francis RiverThe St Francis River at Lake City Arkansas is placid and silt laden Map of the St Francis River watershed The Castor Whitewater headwaters darker shade on the map were historically part of the St Francis watershed but are now diverted to the Mississippi LocationCountryUnited StatesStateMissouri ArkansasRegionOzark Plateau Mississippi Alluvial PlainDistrictSt Francois Mountains Crowleys RidgeCitiesFarmington Missouri Fisk Missouri Lake City Arkansas Marked Tree ArkansasPhysical characteristicsSourceElephant Rocks State Park locationIron County St Francois Mountains Ozark Plateau Missouri elevation1 568 ft 478 m MouthMississippi River locationNear Helena West Helena Phillips County Mississippi Alluvial Plain Arkansas coordinates34 37 28 N 90 35 31 W 34 62444 N 90 59194 W 34 62444 90 59194 Coordinates 34 37 28 N 90 35 31 W 34 62444 N 90 59194 W 34 62444 90 59194 1 elevation171 ft 52 m 1 Length426 mi 686 km Basin size7 550 sq mi 19 600 km2 2 Discharge locationLatitude of Wittsburg average8 976 cu ft s 254 2 m3 s 3 Basin featuresTributaries leftLittle St Francis River 12 Mile Creek Blue Spring Mingo Ditch Little River rightStouts Creek Marble Creek Big Creek Otter Creek L Anguille River Contents 1 Description and course 2 History 3 Names 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksDescription and course EditThe river rises in a region of granite mountains in Iron County Missouri 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 and eventually exits the state at Missouri s lowest point in the toe at 241 feet 73 m above sea level It passes through Lake Wappapello which is formed by a dam constructed in 1941 Below the dam the river meanders through cane forests and willow wetlands or forested swamp transitioning from a clear stream into a slow and silt laden muddy river as it enters the flat lands of the Mississippi embayment In its lower course the river parallels Crowleys Ridge and is part of a navigation and flood control project that encompasses a network of diversion channels and ditches along it and the Castor and Little rivers Below the mouth of the Little River in Poinsett County Arkansas the St Francis is navigable by barge It joins the Mississippi River in Phillips County Arkansas about 7 miles 11 km north of Helena Along its course in Missouri the river flows through the Mark Twain National Forest and past Sam A Baker State Park and the towns of Farmington Greenville and Fisk In Arkansas it passes the towns of St Francis Lake City Marked Tree and Parkin and continues through two additional namesakes of the river St Francis County and St Francis Township in northeastern Phillips County ending its course adjoining 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 which joins it just above its mouth History EditThe river became the home of Cherokee Indians who attacked a boat on the Tennessee River on June 11 1794 known as the Muscle Shoals Massacre and had removed to the west 5 The Spanish authorities allowed the Indian settlement to trade and the area flourished with a population greater than Arkansas Post Names EditThe origin of the river s name is unclear It might refer to St Francis of Assisi the founder of the Franciscan order None of the region s early explorers were Franciscans however One possibility is that Jacques Marquette a Jesuit named the river when he explored its mouth in 1673 Before his voyage down the Mississippi Marquette had spent some time at the mission of St Francois Xavier named for the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier The spelling of the river s name shifted from Francois to Francis in the early 20th century A number of place names in the region stem from the river s name including St Francois County and the St Francois Mountains 6 The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on St Francis River as the stream s name in 1899 According to the Geographic Names Information System historical names for the river have included Cholohollay River El Rio San Francisco Fiume San Francesco Rio San Francisco Riviere Saint Francois Riviere des Chepousseau San Francisco River St Francois River mentioned in the Congressional act which set the boundaries for the state including the Bootheel in Missouri The St Francis River rises in the granite mountains of the eastern Ozarks where it is a clear rapid stream Silver Mine Dam on the upper St Francis RiverSee also EditList of Arkansas rivers List of Missouri rivers River borders of U S statesReferences Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Francis River Missouri and Arkansas a b U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System St Francis River Senator Pryor Announces Arkansas Projects in Water Resources Development Bill Archived 2009 08 13 at the Wayback Machine Senator Mark Pryor Press Releases USGS Surface Water data for Arkansas USGS Surface Water Annual Statistics U S Geological Survey National Hydrography Dataset high resolution flowline data The National Map accessed March 9 2011 Myers Robert A Cherokee Pioneers in Arkansas The St Francis Years 1785 1813 The Arkansas Historical Quarterly vol 56 no 2 1997 pp 127 157 JSTOR website Retrieved 18 July 2021 St Francois County Missouri Place Names Archived 2011 07 20 at the Wayback Machine Western Historical Manuscript CollectionExternal links EditColumbia Gazetteer of North America entry DeLorme 2004 Arkansas Atlas amp Gazetteer Yarmouth Maine DeLorme ISBN 0 89933 345 1 DeLorme 2002 Missouri Atlas amp Gazetteer Yarmouth Maine DeLorme ISBN 0 89933 353 2 U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System St Francis River Maps of Former St Francis Lake in Northeast Arkansas Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Francis River amp oldid 1121204020, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
