Platte River (Iowa and Missouri)

Platte River
Little Platte River
Platte River at 200 St bridge just west of Parnell, Missouri
Map of northern Missouri rivers
Location
Country United States
State Iowa and Missouri
CountyPlatte County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, Andrew County, Missouri, Nodaway County, Missouri, Worth County, Missouri, Taylor County, Iowa, Ringgold County, Iowa, Adams County, Iowa, Union County, Iowa
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • location Spaulding Township, Union County
 • coordinates41°09′25″N 94°23′00″W / 41.15704127°N 94.38338263°W / 41.15704127; -94.38338263[1]
 • elevation1,350 ft (410 m)[1]
MouthMissouri River
 • location
 Lee Township, Platte County
 • coordinates
39°15′51″N 94°50′15″W / 39.2641681°N 94.8374621°W / 39.2641681; -94.8374621[2]
 • elevation
738 ft (225 m)[2]
Length195.5 mi (314.6 km)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationAgency, Missouri
 • average980 cu ft/s (28 m3/s)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationSharps Station, Missouri
 • average1,925 cu ft/s (54.5 m3/s)[3]
 • minimum12 cu ft/s (0.34 m3/s)[3]
 • maximum37,800 cu ft/s (1,070 m3/s)[3]
Basin features
ProgressionPlatte River → Missouri River → Mississippi River → Atlantic Ocean
Stream gradient 3.1 ft/mi (0.59 m/km)[3]

The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River[2] and is 195.5 miles (314.6 km) long.[3] It is located in southwestern Iowa and northwestern Missouri in the United States and is also known as Little Platte River[4] to distinguish it from the larger Platte River, also a tributary of the Missouri, in nearby Nebraska. The Platte River of Missouri itself has a tributary known as the Little Platte River.

Course

The Platte River rises near Creston in Union County, Iowa, and flows generally southwardly through Adams, Ringgold and Taylor Counties in Iowa; and Worth, Nodaway, Andrew, Buchanan and Platte Counties in Missouri. Along its course it passes the Iowa towns of Maloy, Blockton and Athelstan; and the Missouri towns of Sheridan, Parnell, Ravenwood, Conception Junction, Guilford, Tracy, Platte City and Farley. The Platte flows into the Missouri River near Farley, downstream of Leavenworth, Kansas.[5][6]

Several sections of the river's course have been straightened and channelized.[5][6]

History

Main article: Platte Purchase

When Missouri entered the union in 1821, the western border of Missouri from Arkansas to Iowa was based on the confluence of the Kansas River and Missouri River in the West Bottoms in Kansas City. Land in what is now the northwest Missouri was deeded to the Ioway, Sauk and Meskwaki tribes.

However, settlers (most notably Joseph Robidoux in St. Joseph, Missouri) began encroaching on the land. Further settlers in northern Missouri were upset about being cut off from the Missouri.

Excerpt from the Lewis and Clark map of 1814 shows the river identified as the "Little River Platte"

A variant spelling was 'Platt'.[7]

In 1836, William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) persuaded the tribes to sell their lands in northwest Missouri. The deal known as the Platte Purchase was named for the river was ratified in 1837 and the tribes were paid $7,500 for an area about the combined size of Delaware and Rhode Island. The land was then annexed to Missouri.

In 1838 settlers used the river (and the Nodaway River) to reach the heart of the newly available land. The Platte River is not used for transportation in modern times although Missouri River steam boats did call on Tracy, Missouri.

On September 3, 1861, bushwhackers burned a bridge over the river at St. Joseph, Missouri, derailing a Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad train killing between 17 and 20 and injuring 200 in one of the worst attacks on a passenger train in the Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy during the American Civil War. Union forces were to burn Platte City, Missouri in 1861 and 1864 as they tried to force the residents to give up Silas M. Gordon, the suspected ringleader of the attack.

The river is the biggest river in the Platte Purchase area and it flows through the Kansas City Metropolitan Area as well as St. Joseph, Missouri metropolitan area. The river is an eighth order river.

Average flow at mile 25.1 is 1,925 cubic feet per second (54.5 cubic metres per second). The highest flow was 37,800 cu ft/s (1,070 m3/s) during the Great Flood of 1993 on July 26, 1993. The lowest flow was 12 cu ft/s (0.34 m3/s) during a drought in August 1989.[3]

Tributaries

The Platte River watershed contains a few major streams in their own right.

The following is a comprehensive list of all named direct and indirect tributaries of the Platte River:

Platte River at 170th St bridge west of Creston, Iowa

Adams County, Iowa

Ringgold County, Iowa

Worth County, Missouri

Nodaway County, Missouri

Andrew County, Missouri

Buchanan County, Missouri

The Platte River near Platte City, Missouri

Platte County, Missouri

The Platte River near its confluence with the Missouri River at Farley, Missouri

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Rivers and Streams". Missouri Spatial Data Information Service. Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Platte River (Iowa and Missouri)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Bayless, Mike (2022). Platte River Watershed and Inventory Assessment. Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  4. ^ Loy, Amos. "Map of the United States compiled from the latest and most accurate surveys by Amos Lay, geographer & map publisher, New York". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c DeLorme (1998). Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 978-0-89933-214-7.
  6. ^ a b c d DeLorme (2002). Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 978-0-89933-353-3.
  7. ^ "The Maryville Tribune's map of Nodaway County, Missouri, 1903". Library of Congress. The Maryville Tribune. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  8. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: West Platte River
  9. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Middle Platte River
  10. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: East Platte River
  11. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Third Fork
  12. ^ a b c d e "Platte County Missouri Watershed" (PDF). Platte City, MO. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Topography of Platte County, Missouri". USGS and MBGM. Retrieved October 26, 2025.


allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platte_River_(Iowa_and_Missouri)