Rapid Creek (South Dakota)

Rapid Creek
The creek in Rapid City's Founders Park
The creek in Rapid City's Founders Park
Map of Rapid Creek mouth location
Map of Rapid Creek mouth location
Location of Rapid Creek mouth
Map of Rapid Creek mouth location
Map of Rapid Creek mouth location
Rapid Creek (South Dakota) (the United States)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateSouth Dakota
CountyPennington
CityRapid City
Physical characteristics
Sourceconfluence of North Fork and South Fork of Rapid Creek
 • locationabout 2 miles (3.2 km) east-southeast of Hausle Ranch, South Dakota
 • coordinates44°07′52″N 103°44′10″W / 44.1311°N 103.7360°W / 44.1311; -103.7360
 • elevation5,364 ft (1,635 m)[1]
MouthCheyenne River
 • location
about 8 miles southeast of Farmingdale, South Dakota
 • coordinates
43°54′17″N 102°37′44″W / 43.9046°N 102.6290°W / 43.9046; -102.6290
 • elevation
2,441 ft (744 m)[1]
Length117.89 mi (189.73 km)[2]
Basin size715.18 square miles (1,852.3 km2)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationCheyenne River
 • average93.07 cu ft/s (2.635 m3/s) at mouth with Cheyenne River[3]
Basin features
ProgressionCheyenne River → Missouri River → Mississippi River
River systemCheyenne
Tributaries 
 • leftNorth Fork Rapid Creek, Irish Gulch, Moonshine Gulch, Silver Creek, Blind Gulch, Benner Gulch, Minnesota Gulch, Gimlet Creek, Fall Draw, Spurgeon Gulch, Post Draw, Goose Pasture Draw, Gorman Gulch, Sunnyside Gulch, Boarding House Gulch, Deer Creek, Irishman Gulch
 • rightSouth Fork Rapid Creek, Smith Gulch, Poverty Gulch, Bearcat Gulch, Cluder Gulch, Castle Creek, Slate Creek, Stewart Gulch, Nugget Gulch, Empress Gulch, Magpie Gulch, Bear Gulch, Custer Gulch, McCurdy Gulch, Tamarack Gulch, Powerhouse Gulch, Prairie Creek, Victoria Creek, Dry Creek, Lindsey Draw,
WaterbodiesPactula Reservoir, Canyon Lake

Rapid Creek is a tributary of the Cheyenne River, approximately 86 mi (138 km) long, in South Dakota in the United States.[1] The creek's name comes from the Sioux Indians of the area, for the many rapids in the stream.[4]

Course

It rises in southwestern South Dakota, in the Black Hills National Forest in the Black Hills in Pennington County. It flows east, is joined by Castle Creek, past Silver City and through the Pactola Reservoir. Emerging from the Black Hills, it flows through Rapid City, past Farmingdale, and joins the Cheyenne River approximately 13 mi (21 km) southwest of Wasta.

1972 flood

The Rapid Creek is most noted for the Black Hills flood of 1972, in which 238 people perished in Rapid City and in the Black Hills.[5] Since the flood, a flood plain has been established throughout the city making development along the banks inconsiderable.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Rapid Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". epa.maps.arcgis.com. US EPA. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Rapid Creek Watershed Report". watersgeo.epa.gov. US EPA. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  4. ^ Federal Writers' Project (1940). South Dakota place-names, v.1-3. University of South Dakota. p. 52.
  5. ^ "The 1972 Black Hills-Rapid City Flood Revisited". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2007-10-15.


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