The Gasconade River is about 280 miles (450.6 km) long and is located in central and south-central Missouri

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...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The Gasconade River begins in the Ozarks southeast of Hartville

Hartville, Missouri

Hartville is a city in Wright County, Missouri, United States. The population was 607 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wright County.-Geography:Hartville is located at , along the Woods Fork of the Gasconade River...

 in Wright County

Wright County, Missouri

Wright County is a county located in South Central Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 18,815. Its county seat is Hartville. The county was officially organized on January 29, 1841, and is named after Silas Wright , a former Congressman, U.S...

 and flows generally north-northeastwardly through Wright, Laclede

Laclede County, Missouri

Laclede County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2000, the population was 32,513. Its county seat is Lebanon. The county was organized February 24, 1849, and was named after Pierre Laclède, founder of St...

, Pulaski

Pulaski County, Missouri

Pulaski County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. The county was organized in 1833 and named for Kazimierz Pułaski, Polish patriot who died fighting in the American Revolution. As of 2010, the population was 52,274, an increase of 27% from the 2000 Census count of 41,165. Its...

, Phelps

Phelps County, Missouri

Phelps County is a county located in south-central Missouri in the United States.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it includes the mean center of U.S. population in 2000. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 39,825. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 42,205....

, Maries, Osage

Osage County, Missouri

Osage County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. The county was named for the Osage River. As of 2000, the population was 13,062. Its county seat is Linn. The center of population of Missouri is located in Osage County, in the city of Westphalia .Osage County is part of the...

 and Gasconade

Gasconade County, Missouri

Gasconade County is a county in the U.S. state of Missouri located on the south side of the Missouri River, which once served as the chief route of transportation in the state. Located in the area called the Missouri Rhineland, the county had a population of 15,342 as of the 2000 U.S. Census. A...

 counties, through portions of 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...

. It flows into the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 near the town of Gasconade

Gasconade, Missouri

Gasconade is a city in Gasconade County, Missouri, United States, at the confluence of the Missouri and Gasconade Rivers. It was the first county seat, but the designation was moved in 1825 to Bartonville after flooding...

 in Gasconade County.

River course

The headwaters of the Gasconade are in the southeastern corner of Webster County

Webster County, Missouri

Webster County is a county located in Southwest Missouri. As of 2000, the population was 31,045. The population in 2010 was 36,202. Its county seat is Marshfield. The county was organized in 1855 and named for U.S. Senator and U.S...

 northeast of Seymour, Missouri

Seymour, Missouri

Seymour is a city in Webster County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,921 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area....

 where it drains the eastern margin of the Springfield Plateau at approximately 37°11′54"N 92°41′44"W. The river joins the Missouri River at the city of Gasconade

Gasconade, Missouri

Gasconade is a city in Gasconade County, Missouri, United States, at the confluence of the Missouri and Gasconade Rivers. It was the first county seat, but the designation was moved in 1825 to Bartonville after flooding...

 at 38°40′28"N 91°32′55"W. The river follows a meandering course through the Ordovician

Ordovician

The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...

 age dolostone

Dolostone

Dolostone or dolomite rock is a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite. In old U.S.G.S. publications it was referred to as magnesian limestone. Most dolostone formed as a magnesium replacement of limestone or lime mud prior to lithification. It is...

 and sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 bedrock of the Ozark Salem Plateau creating spectacular bluffs and incised meanders along the way. Numerous spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

s and cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

s occur within the drainage area and along the river course. Significant tributaries include the Osage Fork of Webster and Laclede counties and Roubidoux Creek

Roubidoux Creek

Roubidoux Creek is a scenic tributary to the Gasconade River in south central Missouri named after French explorer Joseph Robidoux. It is long. Due to its colder water temperatures, it is listed as a trout stream. Roubidoux Spring is a landmark that is nestled three and a half miles south of the...

 and Big Piney River

Big Piney River

The Big Piney River is a tributary of the Gasconade River in central Missouri in the United States. Via the Gasconade and Missouri rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River basin....

 of Texas

Texas County, Missouri

Texas County is a county located in South Central Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the county's population was 26,008. It's county seat is Houston. The county was organized in 1843 as Ashley County, changing its name in 1845 to Texas, after the Republic of Texas. The 2010 U.S...

 and Pulaski counties. The Roubidoux and Big Piney flow respectively along the west and east boundaries of Fort Leonard Wood

Fort Leonard Wood (military base)

Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Wood, former Chief of Staff, in January 1941...

 which lies a short distance south and east of the Gasconade.

The plateau surface near the midpoint is 300 feet (91.4 m) above the river bottom near the river midpoint northeast of Waynesville

Waynesville

Waynesville may refer to a place in the United States:*Waynesville, Georgia*Waynesville, Illinois*Waynesville, Indiana*Waynesville, Missouri*Waynesville, North Carolina*Waynesville, Ohio...

 creating scenic river bluffs. At the junction with the Missouri the river bottom is about 400 feet (121.9 m) lower in elevation than the old plateau surface above the river. The elevation of the plateau rim at the headwaters is at or above 1600 feet (487.7 m) with local hilltops at over 1700 feet (518.2 m) (second highest elevation in Missouri near Cedar Gap). The elevation at the confluence with the Missouri is 500 feet (152.4 m) giving an overall drainage basin relief of 1200 feet (365.8 m).

The Gasconade River is the longest river completely within the boundary of Missouri. It has been called one of the world's crookedest rivers.

Recreational use

It is ranked with a difficulty of I and II (seldom) by those who 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...

, 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...

 and float. It is considered a good float stream because there's typically not a heavy congestion of boats. It is common to go for many miles without seeing another boat.

There are cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

s and an abundance of wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....

 along the river and is considered a popular place by anglers

Angling

Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...

 for its largemouth bass

Largemouth bass

The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...

 and smallmouth bass

Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...

.

Sources

• Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
• DeLorme
  DeLorme
  DeLorme is a major vendor of business-to-business and consumer mapping and GPS products and technologies. It is based in Yarmouth, Maine, United States....
  
  (2002). Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-353-2.
• Missouri Canoe - an electronic reprint of a Missouri Department of Conservation document
• Southwest Paddler
• Canoe Missouri