Courtois Creek
Encyclopedia
Courtois Creek is a 38.6 miles (62.1 km) stream in southern Missouri
, U.S.A. It shares its name with the nearby town of Courtois
. According to the information in the Ramsay Place Names File at the University of Missouri, the creek was "doubtless named for some French settler, but his identity has not been ascertained".
The stream arises in the Mark Twain National Forest
in northern Iron County
and flows through the Missouri Ozarks, roughly paralleling the course of Huzzah Creek to its west. It flows into Huzzah Creek just before the latter's confluence with the Meramec River near the Crawford County
Highway E bridge.
The creek is popular year-round for canoe
ing, kayak
ing, and raft
ing. It is surrounded by dense stands of trees and native vegetation, has abundant fish, turtles and waterfowl, and is the best-protected stream in the area against erosion
. The St. Louis Riverfront Times
cited the creek as the best local float trip in 2007.
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, U.S.A. It shares its name with the nearby town of Courtois
Courtois, Missouri
Courtois is an unincorporated community in southwestern Washington County, Missouri, United States. It is located about 12 miles southwest of Belgrade. Its post office is closed and mail now comes from Steelville or Belgrade. The community is named after an unidentified settler, as is a nearby...
. According to the information in the Ramsay Place Names File at the University of Missouri, the creek was "doubtless named for some French settler, but his identity has not been ascertained".
The stream arises in the Mark Twain National Forest
Mark Twain National Forest
Mark Twain National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the southern half of Missouri. MTNF was established on September 11, 1939. It is named for author Mark Twain, a Missouri native. The MTNF covers approximately 1.5 million acres , 78,000 acres of which are Wilderness, and National...
in northern Iron County
Iron County, Missouri
Iron County is a county located in the Lead Belt region in Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 10,697. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 9,918. The largest city and county seat is Ironton...
and flows through the Missouri Ozarks, roughly paralleling the course of Huzzah Creek to its west. It flows into Huzzah Creek just before the latter's confluence with the Meramec River near the Crawford County
Crawford County, Missouri
-State:In the Missouri House of Representatives, most of Crawford County is included within the 150th Legislative District and is currently represented by State Representative Jason T. Smith . In 2008, Smith defeated Democratic challenger James D. Ellis 69.97-30.03 percent; the Crawford County...
Highway E bridge.
The creek is popular year-round for canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
ing, kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
ing, and raft
Raft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull...
ing. It is surrounded by dense stands of trees and native vegetation, has abundant fish, turtles and waterfowl, and is the best-protected stream in the area against erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
. The St. Louis Riverfront Times
Riverfront Times
The Riverfront Times is a weekly newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri that consists of local politics, music, arts and dining news in the print edition and daily updates to blogs and photo galleries on its website...
cited the creek as the best local float trip in 2007.