Marais des Cygnes River
Encyclopedia
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 Osage River
Osage River
The Osage River is a tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The Osage River is one of the larger rivers in Missouri. The river drains a mostly rural area of . The watershed includes an area of east-central Kansas and a large portion of west-central and central...
, about 217 miles (349.2 km) long, in eastern Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and western 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...
. Via the Osage and Missouri
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...
rivers, it is part of the 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...
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...
. The name Marais des Cygnes means "Marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
of the Swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s" 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...
(presumably in reference to the Trumpeter Swan
Trumpeter Swan
The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, is the largest native North American bird, if measured in terms of weight and length, and is the largest living waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart of the European Whooper Swan.-Description:Males typically measure from and weigh...
, which was historically common in the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
.) The river is notorious for flash flooding. The river is referenced in the song "The River" by Chely Wright
Chely Wright
Richell Rene "Chely" Wright is an American country music artist and, starting in 2010, gay rights activist. On the strength of her debut album in 1994, the Academy of Country Music named her Top New Female Vocalist in 1995. Wright's first Top 40 country hit came in 1997 with "Shut Up and Drive"...
.
Course
The Marais des Cygnes is formed about 1 mile north of Reading, KansasReading, Kansas
Reading is a city in Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 231. It is part of the Emporia Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, a city in northern Lyon County
Lyon County, Kansas
Lyon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The county was named for General Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in the Civil War. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 33,690. Emporia is the largest city and county seat...
, by the confluence of Elm Creek and One Hundred Forty Two Mile Creek, and flows generally east-southeastwardly through Osage
Osage County, Kansas
Osage County is a county located in east-central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 16295. Its county seat is Lyndon, and its most populous city is Osage City. The county along with Shawnee, Jackson, Jefferson, and Wabaunsee counties is...
, Franklin
Franklin County, Kansas
Franklin County is a county located in East Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 25,992. Its county seat and most populous city is Ottawa...
, Miami
Miami County, Kansas
Miami County is a county located in East Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 32,787. Its county seat and most populous city is Paola...
and Linn
Linn County, Kansas
Linn County is a county located in East Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 9,656. Its county seat is Mound City, and its most populous city is Pleasanton...
counties in Kansas, and Bates
Bates County, Missouri
Bates County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2000, the population is 16,653. Its county seat is Butler. The county was organized in 1833 and named after Frederick Bates, the second governor of Missouri....
County in Missouri, past the Kansas towns of Melvern
Melvern, Kansas
Melvern is a city in Osage County, Kansas, United States, along the Marais des Cygnes River. The population was 429 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Melvern is located at ....
, Quenemo
Quenemo, Kansas
Quenemo is a city in Osage County, Kansas, United States, along the Marais des Cygnes River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 388. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, Ottawa
Ottawa, Kansas
Ottawa is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the central part of Franklin County, located in east-central Kansas, 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo., in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,649. It is the county seat and most populous...
, Osawatomie
Osawatomie, Kansas
Osawatomie is a city in Miami County, Kansas, United States, southwest of Kansas City. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,447. It derives its name from two streams nearby, the Osage and Potawatomie.-History:...
and La Cygne
La Cygne, Kansas
La Cygne is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the northeast part of Linn County, located in East Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,149...
and through the Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge
Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge
Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge is located 39 miles south of the Kansas City metropolitan area, along the Marais des Cygnes River in Linn County...
. In Missouri, it joins the Little Osage River
Little Osage River
The Little Osage River is an 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.-Course:...
at the boundary of Bates and Vernon counties to form the Osage River, 6 miles (10 km) west of Schell City
Schell City, Missouri
Schell City is a city in Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 286 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Schell City is located at ....
.
In Osage County, Kansas, a US Army Corps of Engineers dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
causes the river to form Melvern Lake, which is the site of Eisenhower State Park
Eisenhower State Park (Kansas)
Eisenhower State Park is a state park in Osage County, Kansas, United States, located 30 miles northeast of Emporia and 35 miles south of Topeka....
.
Floods
The Marais des Cygnes River has a history of flooding. One of the first such floods that has been noted is the Great Flood of 1844Great Flood of 1844
The Great Flood of 1844 is the biggest flood ever recorded on the Missouri River and Upper Mississippi River, in North America, in terms of discharge.The impact was not as great as subsequent floods because of the small population in the region at the time...
known as "Big Water" in Native American legend. Though no measurements were taken, it is estimated to have crested
Crest (hydrology)
In hydrology, crest is the highest level above a certain point that a river will reach in a certain amount of time. This term is usually limited to a flooding event and from ground level ....
at 40 feet (12.2 m).
Some of the more notable floods after 1844 include the 1909 flood, cresting at 36.3 feet (11.1 m); the 1915 flood, cresting at 31 feet (9.4 m); the 1928 flood, cresting at 38.65 feet (11.8 m); the 1944 flood, cresting at 36.5 feet (11.1 m); the 1951 flood, cresting at 42.97 feet (13.1 m); and the 2007 flood, cresting at 36.07 feet (11 m).
The Great Flood of 1951
Great Flood of 1951
In mid-July 1951, heavy rains led to a great rise of water in the Kansas River and other surrounding areas. Flooding resulted in the Kansas, Neosho, Marais Des Cygnes, and Verdigris river basins. The damage in June and July 1951 exceeded $935 million dollars in an area covering eastern Kansas and...
happened in June and July 1951, killing 28 people and causing over $935 million damage (in 1951 dollars). This flood also affected the Kansas
Kansas River
The Kansas River is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwestern-most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwestern-most portion of the extensive Mississippi River drainage. Its name come from the Kanza people who once inhabited the area...
, Neosho
Neosho River
The Neosho River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in eastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. Its tributaries also drain portions of Missouri and Arkansas. The river is about long. Via the Arkansas, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.- Course :The Neosho's...
, and Verdigris
Verdigris
Verdigris is the common name for a green pigment obtained through the application of acetic acid to copper plates or the natural patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered and exposed to air or seawater over a period of time. It is usually a basic copper carbonate, but near the sea...
river basins.
As a result of the 1951 flood, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
s and flood control systems on the Marais des Cygnes in the 1960s. These levees and pumping stations would help minimize the effects of a major flood.
Variant names
The United States Board on Geographic NamesUnited States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names is a United States federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government.-Overview:...
settled on "Marais des Cygnes River" as the name in 1971. According to the Geographic Names Information System
Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...
, the river has also been known as:
|
Osage River The Osage River is a tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The Osage River is one of the larger rivers in Missouri. The river drains a mostly rural area of . The watershed includes an area of east-central Kansas and a large portion of west-central and central... |
It is most often pronounced Mare D' Zeen river by those who live nearby it.
See also
- List of Kansas rivers
- List of Missouri rivers
- Battle of Marais des CygnesBattle of Marais des CygnesThe Battle of Marais des Cygnes took place on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas during Price's Missouri Raid in the American Civil War. It is also called the Battle of Osage, and the Battle of Trading Post...