North Fork Smoky Hill River

The North Fork Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America. A tributary of the Smoky Hill River, it flows from eastern Colorado into western Kansas.[2][3]

North Fork Smoky Hill River
Map of the Smoky Hill drainage basin
Location
CountryUnited States
StateColorado, Kansas
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationCheyenne County, Colorado
 • coordinates39°02′06″N 102°48′28″W / 39.03500°N 102.80778°W / 39.03500; -102.80778
 • elevation4,811 ft (1,466 m)
MouthSmoky Hill River
 • location
Logan County, Kansas
 • coordinates
38°55′13″N 101°16′51″W / 38.92028°N 101.28083°W / 38.92028; -101.28083[1]
 • elevation
2,940 ft (900 m)
Length195 mi (314 km)
Basin size759 sq mi (1,970 km2)
Basin features
WatershedsNorth Fork Smoky Hill-Smoky Hill-Kansas-Missouri-Mississippi

Geography

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The North Fork Smoky Hill River rises in the High Plains region of the Great Plains.[4] Its source lies in extreme northern Cheyenne County, Colorado 29 miles (47 km) west-northwest of Cheyenne Wells, the county seat. From there, the river flows east then east-northeast into Kansas.[2] In south-central Sherman County, it has been dammed to form a small reservoir, Sherman State Fishing Lake.[5][6] A few miles east of the reservoir, the river turns southeast and continues to its confluence with the Smoky Hill River in central Logan County 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Russell Springs.[3]

The river has a total length of 195 miles (314 km) and drains an area of 759 square miles (1,970 km2).[7]

Hydrology

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The river is intermittent with water flowing only during and after rains.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "North Fork Smoky Hill River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  2. ^ a b "Colorado Travel Map" (PDF). Colorado Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  3. ^ a b "2003-2004 Official Transportation Map" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  4. ^ "Physiographic Provinces of Colorado". Colorado Geological Survey. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  5. ^ "General Highway Map - Sherman County, Kansas". Kansas Department of Transportation. November 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  6. ^ "Sherman State Fishing Lake Fishing Information". Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  7. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 29, 2011
  8. ^ "Geohydrology of Sherman County". Kansas Geological Survey. Retrieved 2015-12-09.