North River (Missouri)
Encyclopedia
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...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It rises in Knox County
Knox County, Missouri
As of the census of 2010, there are 4,131 people in the county, organized into 1,791 households and 1,217 families. The population density is 9 people per square mile . There are 2,317 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile...
at approximately N40˚ 3' 30" W92˚ 15' 26" (northwest of Novelty
Novelty, Missouri
Novelty is a village in Knox County, Missouri, United States. The population was 139 at the 2010 census.-History:The land that would eventually become the town of Novelty was first claimed and homesteaded in October, 1838 by Cleng Pierson. The town wasn't laid out until nearly twenty years later...
) and flows southeast and east through Shelby and Marion counties, emptying into 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...
between West Quincy
West Quincy, Missouri
West Quincy is a small commercial area in northeastern Marion County, Missouri, United States, on U.S. Route 24. It has no permanent residents.-History:...
and Hannibal
Hannibal, Missouri
Hannibal is a city in Marion and Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. Hannibal is located at the intersection of Interstate 72 and U.S. Routes 24, 36 and 61, approximately northwest of St. Louis. According to the 2010 U.S. Census the population was 17,606...
. The North River drainage area
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...
is 373 square miles (966.1 km²), with a median flow of 38 cuft/s and a mean flow
Mean flow
In fluid dynamics, the fluid flow is often decomposed into a mean flow – and deviations from the mean. The averaging can be done either in space or in time....
of 231 cuft/s based on 72 years of record at the USGS Palmyra gaging station. Record flow was on April 21, 1973 at 57500 cuft/s. During droughts flow sometimes drops to 1 cuft/s or less.
Tributaries
Named tributaries of North River include Lazy Branch, Sidnor Creek (Palmyra Big Spring Branch), Lick Creek, Big Branch, Little North River, Hawkins Branch, Merrills Branch, Tiger Fork, Weldons Branch, Looney Creek, Clear Creek, Mesner Branch, Garnett Branch, and Owl Creek.History of name
The river is believed to be a candidate for the "River Jeffreon" that was referenced in the 1804 Treaty of St. LouisTreaty of St. Louis
The Treaty of St. Louis is one of many treaties signed between the United States and various Native American tribes.-1804 - Sauk and Fox :...
presided over by William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
with the Sac and Fox. Zebulon Pike
Zebulon Pike
Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr. was an American officer and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. As a United States Army captain in 1806-1807, he led the Pike Expedition to explore and document the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase and to find the headwaters of the Red River,...
identified this river as the Jeffreon in his August 19 journal entry with the spelling "Jauflione", although no distinction other than "The Jauflione is about 30 yards wide at its mouth, and bears from the Mississippi about S.W." serves to distinguish it from the nearby Fabius Rivers or South River. The island across the Mississippi River from the outlet of these tributary rivers is labeled "Jeffreon" on Pike's map. The River Jeffreon marked the northern border of Sac and Fox land ceded in Missouri (extending north from the mouth of the Gasconade River
Gasconade River
The Gasconade River is about long and is located in central and south-central Missouri in the United States.The Gasconade River begins in the Ozarks southeast of Hartville in Wright County and flows generally north-northeastwardly through Wright, Laclede, Pulaski, Phelps, Maries, Osage and...
on 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...
and then down the river to the Mississippi. In the same treaty the tribes ceded much of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin on the east side of the Mississippi. Several legal cases
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
stemming from the 1804 treaty have identified North River as the River Jeffreon.
It derived its current name from its position relative to Palmyra, Missouri
Palmyra, Missouri
Palmyra is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,467 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Hannibal Micropolitan Statistical Area.- Geography :Palmyra is located at...
. The North River flows north of that town and the South River flows south of it, with the outlets into the Mississippi being shared at times in the past and still within 1500 feet (457.2 m) of each other. On some maps from the early 19th century, these rivers are labeled as "North Two Rivers" and "South Two Rivers".