White River (Texas)

White River
Blanco Canyon carved by the White River
Location
Country	United States
State	Texas
Physical characteristics
Source	Callahan/Runningwater Draw
• location	Floyd County, Texas
• coordinates	33°58′44″N 101°29′28″W / 33.97889°N 101.49111°W / 33.97889; -101.49111[1]
• elevation	973 m (3,192 ft)
Mouth	Salt Fork, Brazos River
• location	Kent County, Texas
• coordinates	33°14′28″N 100°56′10″W / 33.24111°N 100.93611°W / 33.24111; -100.93611[1]
• elevation	636 m (2,087 ft)
Length	100 km (62 mi)
Basin size	4,377 km2 (1,690 sq mi)[2]

The White River is an intermittent stream in the South Plains of Texas and a tributary of the Brazos River of the United States. It rises 8 miles (13 km) west of Floydada in southwestern Floyd County at the confluence of Callahan and Runningwater Draws. From there, it runs southeast for 62 miles (100 km) to its mouth on the Salt Fork of the Brazos River in northwestern Kent County. Besides these two headwaters, which rise near Hale Center and in Curry County, New Mexico, respectively, other tributaries include Pete, Crawfish, and Davidson Creeks.^[3] The White River drains an area of 1,690 sq mi (4,377 km²).^[2]

The river runs through Blanco Canyon, which it carved as it descends from the Llano Estacado. On October 9, 1871, Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie fought Quanah Parker in the Battle of Blanco Canyon on the river.

South of the canyon, in far southeastern Crosby County, it was dammed in 1963 to create a lake, the White River Reservoir, which provides water for the towns of Post, Spur, Crosbyton, and Ralls.^[3]

The river was known to Spanish hunters and traders in eastern New Mexico long before Anglo settlers arrived; the Spanish named the river Blanco (Spanish word for "white"), which it shares with the canyon and which has been anglicized to the present name.^[3] The river has also been called the "Blanco Fork of Brazos River" or the "White Fork of Brazos River".^[4]

Local anecdotes suggest the river level has been steadily declining due to local pumping and depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer: "you could catch fish in it until 1955.... Today, the water is 80 feet down."^[5]