Marais des Cygnes River

Marais des Cygnes River
Big Osage River, Brush Creek, Grand River, Old Aunt Mary River[1]
Map of the Osage River watershed including the Marais des Cygnes River
Location
CountryUnited States
StateKansas, Missouri
Physical characteristics
Source confluence 
 • locationLyon County, Kansas
 • coordinates38°34′05″N 95°58′28″W / 38.56806°N 95.97444°W / 38.56806; -95.97444
 • elevation1,112 ft (339 m)
MouthOsage River
 • location
Vernon County, Missouri
 • coordinates
38°01′39″N 94°14′39″W / 38.02750°N 94.24417°W / 38.02750; -94.24417[1]
 • elevation
722 ft (220 m)
Length217 mi (349 km)
Discharge 
 • locationUSGS 06916600 near Kansas-Missouri state line[2]
 • average2,189 cu ft/s (62.0 m3/s)
 • minimum0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
 • maximum129,000 cu ft/s (3,700 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • left110 Mile Creek, Bull Creek
 • rightPottawatomie Creek
WatershedsMarais des Cygnes-Osage-Missouri-Mississippi

The Marais des Cygnes River (/ˌmɛər də ˈzn, - ˈsn, ˈmɛər də zn/ MAIR de ZEEN, -⁠ zeen, -⁠ SEEN,[3][4] French: [maʁɛ de siɲ]) is a principal tributary of the Osage River, about 217 miles (349 km) long,[5] 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.

  1. ^ a b "Marais des Cygnes River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  2. ^ "Water-Data Report 2013 - 06916600 Marais des Cygnes River near Kansas-Missouri State Line, KS" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  3. ^ "Marais des Cygnes". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Marais des Cygnes". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
  5. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 31, 2011