Huzzah Creek (Meramec River tributary)

Huzzah Creek
Dillard Mill on the Huzzah
Map
Location
CountryUnited States
Physical characteristics
SourceWest Fork
 • coordinates37°34′54″N 91°14′38″W / 37.5817°N 91.2440°W / 37.5817; -91.2440 (West Fork Huzzah Creek (source))
2nd sourceEast Fork
 • coordinates37°34′26″N 91°10′26″W / 37.5740°N 91.1740°W / 37.5740; -91.1740 (East Fork Huzzah Creek (source))
MouthMeramec River
 • location
About a mile upstream of Onondaga Cave State Park
 • coordinates
38°01′52″N 91°13′40″W / 38.0311°N 91.2278°W / 38.0311; -91.2278 (Huzzah Creek (mouth))
Length35.8 miles (57.6 km)
Basin size266 sq mi (690 km2)[2]
Discharge 
 • average310 cu ft/s (8.8 m3/s)[1]

Huzzah Creek (locally /ˈhuːzɑː/) is a 35.8-mile-long (57.6 km)[3] clear-flowing stream in the southern part of the U.S. state of Missouri.[4] According to the information in the Ramsay Place Names File at the University of Missouri, the creek's name "is evidently derived from" Huzzaus, one of the early French versions of the name of the Osage people.[5]

The Huzzah's headwaters are in the Mark Twain National Forest in northern Reynolds County. It flows northward through the Missouri Ozarks, roughly paralleling the course of Courtois Creek to its east, until it enters the Meramec River shortly after passing under the Crawford County Highway E bridge. Along its course it flows through the Dillard Mill State Historic Site and, near its confluence with the Meramec, the 6,225-acre (2,519 ha) Huzzah Conservation Area.[2]

The creek is popular for camping, canoeing, kayaking, and rafting. It is surrounded by limestone bluffs and stands of native pine, oak, and hickory trees; and at normal water levels it has no sections of difficulty greater than grades I and II.[2] The St. Louis Riverfront Times cited the creek as the "Best River for Float Trips" in 2011.[6]

  1. ^ "USGS 07014000 Huzzah Creek near Steelville, MO". National Water Information System: Web Interface. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  2. ^ a b c "Upper Meramec Section: Huzzah Creek Watershed" (PDF). The Meramec River Basin Almanac. East-West Gateway Council of Governments. pp. 11–12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  3. ^ "Watershed Evaluation and Comparison Tool". Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems, University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  4. ^ "Huzzah Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  5. ^ "Crawford County Place Names, 1928–1945". The State Historical Society of Missouri. Archived from the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  6. ^ "Best of St. Louis, 2011 – Best River for Float Trips: Huzzah Creek". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2022-05-31.