L'Anguille River is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the St. Francis River

St. Francis River

The Saint Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States...

, approximately 110 mi (175 km) long, in northeastern Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 in the United States

United States

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

. Via the St. Francis River, it is part of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

.

"Anguille" means "eel

Eel

Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...

" in French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

.

Course

The L'Anguille is formed south of Jonesboro

Jonesboro, Arkansas

Jonesboro is a city in and one of the two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 US Census, the population of the city was 67,263. A college town, Jonesboro is the largest city in northeastern Arkansas and the fifth most populous city in the state...

 in southern Craighead County

Craighead County, Arkansas

Craighead County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 96,443. It is included in the Jonesboro, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Craighead County is Arkansas's 58th county, formed on February 19, 1859, and named for state Senator Thomas...

 by a confluence of agricultural ditches; several portions of the river's upper course have been straightened and channelized. The river flows generally southward through Poinsett, Cross, St. Francis and Lee Counties, parallel to Crowley's Ridge

Crowley's Ridge

Crowley's Ridge is an unusual geological formation that rises 250 to above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. It is the most prominent feature in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain between Cape...

 and past the towns of Palestine

Palestine, Arkansas

Palestine is a city in St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States, along the L'Anguille River. The population was 741 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Palestine is located at ....

 and Marianna

Marianna, Arkansas

Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Arkansas, United States, along the L'Anguille River. The community was established by Col. Walter H. Otey in 1848 and was known as Walnut Ridge until 1852 when it became known as Marianna...

. It joins the St. Francis River in eastern Lee County, not far above that river's confluence with the Mississippi River. A diversion ditch routes a portion of the St. Francis River's flow to the lowermost course of the L'Anguille.

At Marianna, the L'Anguille River crosses Crowley's Ridge, providing the only break in the ridge.