Washita River
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| Washita River | |
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| Photo of the Upper Washita River
Upper Washita River in Hemphill County, Texas
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| File:Washitarivermap.png
Map of the Washita River watershed
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| Origin | Roberts County, Texas Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[1] |
| Mouth | Lake Texoma Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[1] |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Length | 295 mi (475 km) |
| Mouth elevation | 617 ft (188 m) |
| Basin area | 7,870 sq mi (20,400 km2) |
| River system | Red River |
The Washita River (Pawnee: Awaastatkiicuʾ [2]) is a river in Texas and Oklahoma, United States. The river is 295 miles (475 km) long and terminates into Lake Texoma in Johnston County (also Bryan County and Marshall County - Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.), Oklahoma and the Red River.
Geography
The Washita River crosses Hemphill County, Texas and enters Oklahoma in Roger Mills County. In Oklahoma it cuts through the Oklahoma Counties of: Roger Mills, Custer, Washita, Caddo, Grady, Garvin, Murray, Carter, and Johnston. Lake Texoma is the border between Bryan County and Marshall County.
The river bisects the heart of the Anadarko Basin, according to the USGS the Anadarko Basin is the fifth largest natural gas formation area discovered in the United States.
When the river reaches the Arbuckle Mountains it drops 30 ft/mile as it cuts through Big Canyon, a limestone gorge 300 feet deep.
The Washita's river bed is made up of unstable mud and sand. The banks of the river are steeply incised and erosive, made up of red earth. This makes it one of the most silt-laden streams in North America. [3]
Sources
The Washita River forms in eastern Roberts County, Texas (Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.) near the town of Miami, Texas in the Texas Panhandle.
Tributaries
Along its path, the Foss Dam impounds the Washita River to create the huge Foss Reservoir. Several reservoirs along the Washita River valley hold the waters of small tributaries, including Fort Cobb Lake, Lake Chickasha, and Arbuckle Reservoir.
History
The Battle of Washita River (or Washita River Massacre) occurred on November 27, 1868 when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Black Kettle’s Cheyenne village on the Washita River (near present day Cheyenne, Oklahoma) at dawn.
General (later President) Zachary Taylor established Fort Washita near lower end of the river in 1842 to protect citizens of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations from the plains indians. The Fort was about 19 miles (31 km) above where the Washita river runs into the Red River.[4]
See also
References
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<references />, or <references group="..." />External links
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Washita River
- Washita River from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Washita River Paddling Information
- Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
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- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with broken file links
- Rivers of Oklahoma
- Rivers and streams of Texas
- Landforms of Bryan County, Oklahoma
- Landforms of Marshall County, Oklahoma
- Landforms of Johnston County, Oklahoma
- Landforms of Carter County, Oklahoma
- Landforms of Murray County, Oklahoma
- Landforms of Garvin County, Oklahoma
- Tributaries of the Red River (Mississippi River)
