Little Osage River

For the military conflict, see Battle of Mine Creek.

Little Osage River
The Little Osage River near Horton, Missouri
Map of the Osage River watershed showing the Little Osage River
Location
Country	United States
State	Kansas, Missouri
Physical characteristics
Source confluence
• location	Allen County, Kansas
• coordinates	38°01′32″N 95°05′23″W
• elevation	943 ft (287 m)
Mouth	Osage River
• location	Vernon County, Missouri
• coordinates	38°01′39″N 94°14′39″W[1]
• elevation	722 ft (220 m)
Length	88 mi (142 km)
Discharge
• location	USGS 0691700 at Horton, Missouri[2]
• average	369 cu ft/s (10.4 m^3/s)
• minimum	0 cu ft/s (0 m^3/s)
• maximum	43,700 cu ft/s (1,240 m^3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Limestone Creek, Marmaton River
Watersheds	Little Osage-Osage-Missouri-Mississippi

The Little Osage River is an 88-mile-long (142 km)[3] tributary of the Osage River in 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 was derived from the Osage Nation, whose traditional territory encompassed this area.[4]

Course

The Little Osage rises in Kansas in northeastern Allen County at the confluence of the North and Middle Forks. The stream flows southeast into Bourbon County where the South Fork joins the stream and the stream turns and flows to the east. The stream turns sharply south. It is crossed by Kansas 65 to the east of Xenia. The stream meanders eastward passing north of Fulton, and under U.S. Route 69, where it enters northwestern Vernon County, Missouri. In Vernon County the stream passes just north of Stotesbury and on to pass under U.S. Route 71 north of Horton and through the Four Rivers Conservation Area and is joined by the Marmaton River.

On the boundary of Vernon and Bates counties, the Little Osage joins the Marais des Cygnes River to form the Osage River, 6 miles (10 km) west of Schell City.[5] The areas to the east of the Marmaton River confluence are within what is now the flooded area of the Harry S Truman Reservoir. [6]

See also

• List of Kansas rivers
• List of Missouri rivers

References

1. "Little Osage River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
2. "Water-Data Report 2012 - 0691700 Little Osage River at Horton, MO" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
3. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 31, 2011
4. Lyman, Clifford (July 16, 1976). "Names' Past Cloudy". Fort Scott Tribune. pp. 13B. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
5. Blue Mound, Mapleton, Xenia, Devon, Mantey, Prescott and Hammond (Kansas) and Richards, Metz, Horton, Rich Hill and Papinville (Missouri) 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangles, USGS, various dates
6. Nevada, MO-KS (1991) and Butler, MO-KS (1981), 1:100,000 scale Topographic Maps. USGS

External links

• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Osage River