Smoky Hill River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Smoky Hill River | |
|---|---|
 Smoky Hill River near Assaria, Kansas | |
 Map of the Smoky Hill drainage basin | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado, Kansas |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Cheyenne County, Colorado |
| • coordinates | 38°57′01″N 102°34′49″W / 38.95028°N 102.58028°W[1] |
| • elevation | 4,640 ft (1,410 m) |
| Mouth | Kansas River |
• location | Junction City, Kansas |
• coordinates | 39°03′36″N 98°46′04″W / 39.06000°N 98.76778°W[1] |
• elevation | 1,040 ft (320 m) |
| Length | 575 mi (925 km) |
| Basin size | 19,260 sq mi (49,900 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | USGS 06877600 at Enterprise, KS[3] |
| • average | 1,540 cu ft/s (44 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 38 cu ft/s (1.1 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 207,000 cu ft/s (5,900 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | North Fork Smoky Hill River, Big Creek, Saline River, Solomon River |
| • right | Ladder Creek |
| Watersheds | Smoky Hill-Kansas-Missouri-Mississippi |
The Smoky Hill River is a 575-mile (925 km)[4] river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through Colorado and Kansas.[5]
The Smoky Hill is named from the Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas through which it flows. American Indians living along the Smoky Hill considered it and the Kansas River to be the same river, and their names for it included Chetolah and Okesee-sebo. Early maps of European explorers called the river (also in combination with the Kansas River) the River of the Padoucas as its source is located in what was then Padouca (Comanche) territory.[2]
The USGS lists several other names, including Chitolah River, Fork of the Hill Buckaneuse, La Fourche de la Cote Boucaniere, La Touche de la Cote Bucanieus, Manoiyohe, Pe P'a, Sand River, Shallow River, Smoky Creek, Branche de la Montagne a la Fumee, Ka-i-urs-kuta, Oke-see-sebo River, and Rahota katit hibaru.[1]
Geography
The Smoky Hill River originates in the High Plains of eastern Colorado and flows east. Both the main course of it and of the North Fork Smoky Hill River rise in northern Cheyenne County, Colorado.[1][6] The two streams converge roughly 5 miles (8 km) west of Russell Springs in Logan County, Kansas.[6] From there, the river continues generally eastward through the Smoky Hills region. The Saline River joins it in eastern Saline County.[7] The Solomon River joins the Smoky Hill River in western Dickinson County.[8] The Smoky Hill River joins the Republican River at Junction City, Kansas to form the Kansas River.[1]
The Smoky Hill River directly drains an area of 8,810 square miles (22,800 km2). The combined Smoky Hill-Saline Basin drains 12,229 square miles (31,670 km2).[9] The entire Smoky Hill drainage basin covers approximately 20,000 square miles (52,000 km2), including most of north-central and northwestern Kansas.[10] Via the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, the Smoky Hill River is part of the Mississippi River watershed.
The Smoky Hill River feeds two reservoirs: Cedar Bluff Reservoir in Trego County and Kanopolis Lake in Ellsworth County.[9]
The largest city along the Smoky Hill River is Salina, and other Kansas municipalities include Junction City, Ellsworth, Marquette, Lindsborg, and Abilene.[11]
