Marais des Cygnes
Marais des Cygnes is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 38.57°, -95.14°
About Marais des Cygnes
The Marais des Cygnes River ( MAIR de ZEEN, - zeen, - SEEN, French: [maʁɛ de siɲ]) is a principal tributary of the Osage River, about 217 miles (349 km) long, 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.
The name Marais des Cygnes means "Marsh of the Swans" in French (presumably in reference to the trumpeter swan, which was historically common in the Midwest).
The river is notorious for flash flooding. It is referred to in the song "The River" by Chely Wright. La Cygne, Kansas, in Linn County and Osawatomie, Kansas, in Miami County are gravely affected by its flooding.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Marais des Cygnes River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Marais des Cygnes in Depth
Course
The Marais des Cygnes is formed about 1 mile north of Reading, Kansas, a city in northern Lyon County, by the confluence of Elm Creek and One Hundred Forty-Two Mile Creek, and flows generally east-southeastwardly through Osage, Franklin, Miami and Linn counties in Kansas, and Bates County in Missouri, past the Kansas towns of Melvern, Quenemo, Ottawa, Osawatomie and La Cygne and through the Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge. In Missouri, it joins the Little Osage River at the boundary of Bates and Vernon counties to form the Osage River, 6 miles (10 km) west of Schell City.
In Osage County, Kansas, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam causes the river to form Melvern Lake, which is the site of Eisenhower State Park.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Marais des Cygnes River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Marais des Cygnes: Key Facts
| Length | 225 km |
|---|---|
| Mouth | Osage River |
| Drainage system | Osage River basin |
Facts from Wikidata Q1892251 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Marais des Cygnes: Quick Answers
- Where is Marais des Cygnes?
- Marais des Cygnes is located in United States, at 38.5713° N, 95.1415° W.
- Are there dams on the Marais des Cygnes?
- No dam on the Marais des Cygnes is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.