Current River (Ozarks)

Current
Current River near Doniphan
Map of major Missouri Rivers
Location
Country	United States
State	Missouri, Arkansas
Region	Ozark Plateau, Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Cities	Van Buren, Doniphan, Missouri
Physical characteristics
Source	Pigeon Creek Montauk Spring
• location	Montauk State Park, Dent County, Ozark Plateau, Missouri
• coordinates	37°27′36″N 91°41′00″W / 37.46000°N 91.68333°W / 37.46000; -91.68333 (Current River, source)[1]
• elevation	935 ft (285 m)[2]
Mouth	Black River
• location	Pocahontas, Arkansas, Randolph County, Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Arkansas
• coordinates	36°15′11″N 90°54′45″W / 36.25306°N 90.91250°W / 36.25306; -90.91250 (Current River, mouth)[1]
• elevation	243 ft (74 m)[1]
Length	184 mi (296 km)
Basin size	2,641 sq mi (6,840 km2)
Discharge
• location	Doniphan, Missouri[3]
• average	2,772 cu ft/s (78.5 m3/s)[3]
• maximum	130,000 cu ft/s (3,700 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Sinking Creek, Little Black River, Welch Spring
• right	Big Creek, Jacks Fork, Big Spring

The Current River forms in the southeastern portion of the Ozarks of Missouri and becomes a 7th order stream^[4] as it flows southeasterly out of the Ozarks into northeastern Arkansas where it becomes a tributary of the Black River, which is a tributary of the White River, a tributary of the Mississippi River. The Current River is approximately 184 miles (296 km) long and drains about 2,641 square miles (6,840 km²)^[4] of land mostly in Missouri and a small portion of land in northeastern Arkansas. The headwaters of the Current River are nearly 900 feet (270 m) above sea level, while the mouth of the river lies around 280 feet (85 m)^[4] above sea level. The basin drains a rural area that is dominated by karst topography, underlain by dolomite and sandstone bedrock with a small area of igneous rock southeast of Eminence, Missouri. The annual daily mean discharge of the river near Doniphan, Missouri is 2,815 cubic feet (79.7 m³) per second.^[4] In 1964, over 134 mi (160 km) of the upper course of the river and its tributaries were federally protected as the Ozark National Scenic Riverways,^[5] the first national park in America to protect a river system.