Verdigris River
Encyclopedia
The Verdigris River (ˈvɜrdɨɡrɪs) is a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
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...
in southeastern 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...
and northeastern Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is about 310 miles (498.9 km) long. Via the Arkansas, it is part 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...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.
Course
The Verdigris is formed near Madison, KansasMadison, Kansas
Madison is a city in Greenwood County, Kansas, United States, along the Verdigris River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 701.-Geography:Madison is located at...
, by the convergence of two short headwaters streams, its North and South forks, and flows generally southward throughout its course. South of Coffeyville
Coffeyville, Kansas
Coffeyville is a city situated along the Verdigris River in the southeastern part of Montgomery County, located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,295...
, the river enters Oklahoma. It joins the Arkansas River near Muskogee
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
, about a mile upstream of the mouth of the Neosho River
Neosho River
The Neosho River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in eastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. Its tributaries also drain portions of Missouri and Arkansas. The river is about long. Via the Arkansas, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.- Course :The Neosho's...
.
History
The river is mentioned in accounts by Zebulon PikeZebulon Pike
Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr. was an American officer and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. As a United States Army captain in 1806-1807, he led the Pike Expedition to explore and document the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase and to find the headwaters of the Red River,...
(1806), Thomas Nuttall
Thomas Nuttall
Thomas Nuttall was an English botanist and zoologist, who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841....
(1818), and because of the fur trade had numerous trading posts along its route. The name is derived from the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
words verde, meaning "green," and gris, meaning "grey." According to the Encyclopaedia Brittanica the name may be derived from a gray-green substance resembling a copper ore. In the treaty of 1834 with the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
Indians, the river was named as a part of the boundary of their lands.
Coffeyville Resources, based in Kansas City, Kan., experienced flooding by the Verdigris River in July 2007, releasing about 1,700 barrels of crude oil from its refinery at Coffeyville, Kansas
Coffeyville, Kansas
Coffeyville is a city situated along the Verdigris River in the southeastern part of Montgomery County, located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,295...
.
Dams and transportation
Several damDam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cause the Verdigris to form Toronto Lake
Toronto Lake (Kansas)
Toronto Lake is a recreational lake in southern Kansas, opened in 1960, and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Toronto Lake was authorized in the Flood Control Act of 1941. It is located on the Verdigris River, about 4 miles southeast of Toronto, Kansas. Construction started on the lake...
near Toronto, Kansas
Toronto, Kansas
Toronto is a city in Woodson County, Kansas, United States, along the Verdigris River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 281.-Geography:Toronto is located at...
and Oologah Lake
Oologah Lake
Lake Oologah is a reservoir in northeastern Oklahoma. It is located near the towns of Oologah, Nowata, and Claremore. The lake has a surface of of water and...
near Oologah, Oklahoma
Oologah, Oklahoma
Oologah is a town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. Renowned humorist Will Rogers was born on a ranch two miles east of Oologah, though he usually claimed Claremore as his birthplace, "because nobody but an Indian can pronounce 'Oologah.'"...
. More dams and reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
s are downsteam along the Arkansas River.
From just north of Catoosa, Oklahoma
Catoosa, Oklahoma
Catoosa is a river city in Rogers and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 7,159 at the 2010 census compared to 5,449 at the 2000 census. This was a 31.2 percent increase during the decade.Catoosa is an Inland seaport...
to its confluence with the Arkansas, barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
traffic is maintained on the river as part of the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System, which consists of a series of locks and dams on the Arkansas River and the Verdigris River and which enables commercial navigation between the Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, area and 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...
, and thence to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
Tributaries
In Kansas, the Verdigris collects the Fall River at the town of NeodeshaNeodesha, Kansas
Neodesha is a city in Wilson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,486. The name is derived from the Osage Indian word, Ni-o-sho-de, and is translated as The-Water-Is-Smoky-With-Mud.-19th century:...
and the Elk River
Elk River (Kansas)
The Elk River is a tributary of the Verdigris River in southeastern Kansas in the United States. Via the Verdigris and Arkansas rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.-Description and course:...
at the town of Independence
Independence, Kansas
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,483.-Geography:...
. In Oklahoma it collects the Caney River
Caney River
The Caney River is a river in southern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. The river is a tributary of the Verdigris River, and is usually a flatwater stream....
in Rogers County
Rogers County, Oklahoma
Rogers County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 86,905. Its county seat is Claremore. The county was originally created in 1906 and named Cooweescoowee...
.
Cities and towns along the river
- Altoona, KansasAltoona, KansasAltoona is a city in Wilson County, Kansas, United States, along the Verdigris River. The population was 485 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Altoona is located at ....
- Benedict, KansasBenedict, KansasBenedict is a city in Wilson County, Kansas, United States, along the Verdigris River. The population was 103 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Benedict is located at ....
- Catoosa, OklahomaCatoosa, OklahomaCatoosa is a river city in Rogers and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 7,159 at the 2010 census compared to 5,449 at the 2000 census. This was a 31.2 percent increase during the decade.Catoosa is an Inland seaport...
- Coffeyville, KansasCoffeyville, KansasCoffeyville is a city situated along the Verdigris River in the southeastern part of Montgomery County, located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,295...
- Independence, KansasIndependence, KansasIndependence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,483.-Geography:...
- Madison, KansasMadison, KansasMadison is a city in Greenwood County, Kansas, United States, along the Verdigris River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 701.-Geography:Madison is located at...
- Neodesha, KansasNeodesha, KansasNeodesha is a city in Wilson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,486. The name is derived from the Osage Indian word, Ni-o-sho-de, and is translated as The-Water-Is-Smoky-With-Mud.-19th century:...
- Okay, OklahomaOkay, OklahomaOkay is a town along the Verdigris River in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 597 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Okay is located at ....
- Oologah, OklahomaOologah, OklahomaOologah is a town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. Renowned humorist Will Rogers was born on a ranch two miles east of Oologah, though he usually claimed Claremore as his birthplace, "because nobody but an Indian can pronounce 'Oologah.'"...
- Toronto, KansasToronto, KansasToronto is a city in Woodson County, Kansas, United States, along the Verdigris River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 281.-Geography:Toronto is located at...
- Nowata, OklahomaNowata, OklahomaNowata is a city in Nowata County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,731 at the United States Census, 2010, a 6.0 percent decline from 3,971 at the 2000 census...
See also
- List of Kansas rivers
- List of Oklahoma rivers
- Port of Catoosa
- Nowata