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Place Name
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Arkansas River
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Place Status (Type)
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river
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Location
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Lake County, Colorado (CO), United States, North America
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Latitude
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unknown
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Longitude
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unknown
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Arkansas River
, c.1,450 mi/2,333 km
long; rising in the Rocky Mts., N Lake co., central Colo.,
8 mi/12.9 km WNW of Leadville; flows E through
Turquoise L., and Leadville, then SE and E, past Canon City,
through Public Reservoir and city of Pueblo, past La Junta, through
John Martin Reservoir, past Lamar, Colo., and past Kansas, continues
past Dodge City, Great Bend, Hutchinson, through Wichita, SE into
Okla., through Kaw and Keystone reservoirs, becoming a navigable stream
at Tulsa due to the Ark. R. Navigation System. The river continues SE
past Muskayes, through Webber Falls and Robert S. Kerr (joined here by
Canadian R.) reservoirs. It enters state of Ark. at Fort Smith, flowing
E and SE, through Ozark Reservoir and Dardanell L. Reservoir, through
Little Rock and past Pine Bluff, entering Mississippi R.
25 mi/40 km ENE of McGeher, Ark. A series of
dams from Tulsa to its mouth make the lower Arkansas navigable for
barge traffic. A custom channel
30 mi/48 km N of McGeher to the White R.
provides a more direct route to the Mississippi, flowing generally SE
across the plains to the Mississippi. The Canadian and Cimarron rivers
are its main tributaries. It is the chief waterway for the state of
Ark., where it drains a broad valley. The upper course of the Arkansas
R. has many rapids and flows through Royal Gorge, one of the deepest
canyons in the U.S. More than 25 dams on the river provide flood
control, power, and irrigation. During the warm months, because of its
extensive use for irrigation, the middle course of the Arkansas is
reduced to a trickle. The John Martin dam and reservoir in Colo. is one
of the largest water-storage and flood-control units in the river
basin. The Arkansas R. Navigation System, at Continental Divide, opened
in 1971, makes the river navigable to Tulsa, Okla.,
440 mi/708 km upstream. The Span. explorers
Coronado and De Soto probably traveled along portions of the river in
the 1540s. In 1806, Zebulon Pike, an American army officer,
explored the river's upper reaches in Colorado. The Arkansas R. was an
important trade and travel route in the 19th cent. Lake Fork rises in
NW Lake co., flows 13 mi/21 km E through
Turquiose L. Reservoir and SSE. East Fork rises in NE Lake and flows SW
c. 20 mi/32 km past Landville, joining Lake
Fork 4 mi/6.4 km SW of Leadville.
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