Kiamichi River facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kiamichi River
The Kiamichi River watershed
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
Physical characteristics
River mouth	33°57′40″N 95°13′46″W / 33.96111°N 95.22944°W / 33.96111; -95.22944
Basin features
River system	Red River

The Kiamichi River is a river in southeastern Oklahoma, USA. It is a branch, or tributary, of the Red River of the South. The river starts high up on Pine Mountain in the Ouachita Mountains, close to the Arkansas border. From its source in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, it flows about 177 miles (285 km) (285 km) until it joins the Red River near Hugo, Oklahoma.

What's in a Name?

The exact meaning of the name "Kiamichi" is a bit of a mystery. Most people think it comes from a French word. This word was likely pronounced in a way that sounded like "Kiamichi" to English speakers. It might have meant "horned screamer" or "noisy bird." This could refer to woodpeckers or other loud birds living along the river.

The way "Kiamichi" is spelled today wasn't set until the 1900s. This makes it harder to figure out its true origin. The Antlers News, a newspaper from what was then called Antlers, Indian Territory, first used the spelling "Kiamichi" in November 1900. Before that, the newspaper and other sources spelled it "Kiamichia" or "Kiamitia." The spelling "Kiamitia" is closest to a French word.

One idea from Muriel H. Wright is that Kiamichi might come from the French word kamichi. This word meant "horned screamer" and might have referred to the whooping cranes that lived by the river. Other spellings of the name have included: Kiomitchie, Cayameechee, Kiamisha, Kimesha, Kimichy, and Kimishi. Another idea is that the name might be linked to the Kichai tribe, who lived in the area long ago.

Where is the Kiamichi River?

From Pine Mountain, the Kiamichi River flows southwest. It passes by towns like Talihina, Tuskahoma, and Clayton. When it reaches Antlers, it makes a sharp turn southeast. It continues in this direction until it meets the Red River.

For much of its journey, the river flows through the beautiful Kiamichi River valley. This valley is surrounded by mountains that share the same name. Pine Mountain is the tallest at about 2,600 feet (790 m) (792 meters). Other mountains along its path, like Flagpole Mountain near Clayton, are also tall. They usually rise between 900 feet (270 m) (274 meters) and 1,800 feet (550 m) (549 meters). At Antlers, the river runs into a huge hill called Standpipe Hill. This hill forces the river to turn southeast. From Antlers to the Red River, the Kiamichi generally flows through a wide, flat area called an alluvial plain. This is especially true as it gets closer to the Red River.

The Kiamichi River or its smaller streams are held back by two lakes: Sardis Lake and Hugo Lake. Sardis Lake is named after a small town that was moved when the lake was built. It holds back Jack's Fork Creek. Hugo Lake is named after the nearby town of Hugo. This lake holds back the Kiamichi River itself. Both lakes are flood control reservoirs. They were built and are run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Smaller dams have also been built on the river's branches over time. These were mostly used to power sawmills and other small local businesses.

Some interesting natural spots in the Kiamichi River valley include McKinley Rocks, the Potato Hills, Rock Town, and Lost Mountain.

River Branches

Some of the main streams that flow into the Kiamichi River are Anderson Creek, Big Cedar Creek, Buck Creek, Buffalo Creek, Gates Creek, Jacks’ Fork Creek, Pine Creek, Tenmile Creek, and Waterhole Creek.

River's Watershed

The area that drains into the Kiamichi River, called its watershed, covers about 1,830 square miles (4,700 km²) (4,740 square kilometers).

Kiamichi River History

Ancient Times

The Kiamichi River was very important in ancient times. Its valley was the easiest way to travel through the region from north to south. Native American people used it as a travel path. The Native Americans who lived in this area before Europeans arrived were mostly Caddo people, who moved from place to place. The powerful Caddoan Mississippian culture from Spiro Mounds had influence over the Kiamichi River valley. This valley was part of their trade routes.

Many old objects found in the Kiamichi River basin show that people lived in its valley a very long time ago. One special place is a prehistoric fish weir, or trap, in the river in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. This trap was dug up by the Oklahoma Archeological Survey. Ancient people built stone walls to change the river's flow. This created a narrow channel where fish would swim into a trap. Scientists used Radiocarbon dating on burnt hickory and pecan shells found there. They show the site is about 1,200 BC. They also found stumps of cypress trees. These trees haven't grown in that part of the county for hundreds of years.

More than 220 archeological sites have been found in Pushmataha County alone. This shows how many ancient and more recent settlements were in the region before Europeans arrived. Of these sites, three are at least 8,000 years old. One hundred forty-five sites are between 2,000 and 8,000 years old. And 22 sites are between 500 and 1,000 years old.

Modern History

Europeans first found the Kiamichi River in 1719. French explorer Bernard de la Harpe explored the Kiamichi River valley. French explorers were soon followed by French fur trappers. These trappers gave names to most of Oklahoma's rivers.

American explorers came after the French. They were the first to do organized scientific studies of the Kiamichi River. Thomas Nuttall traveled through the Kiamichi and Little River valleys in 1819. Stephen H. Long explored the Kiamichi River in 1821. Nuttall and Long were like pioneers for new settlements. The area was actively settled by Choctaw Indians starting in 1832. These Choctaw people had been moved from other parts of the United States.

After the Choctaw Nation moved to the Indian Territory in 1832, the river became a political boundary. It marked the border between different counties and districts. The river was an easy-to-see natural border. It served this purpose until Oklahoma became a state in 1907. At that time, the Choctaw Nation no longer existed, and its political areas were removed. A Choctaw county was named after the river, usually spelled Kiamitia. The river formed the eastern border of Jack's Fork County and Kiamitia County. It was also the western border of Cedar County and Towson counties.

People wanted to be able to travel by boat on the Kiamichi River. But this was hard because of a huge logjam in the Red River. This logjam stopped boats from going much past Natchitoches. In 1825, the Arkansas legislature asked the United States Congress to remove the "Great Raft," as the logjam was called. This would allow boats to travel the Red River as far west as the Kiamichi River's mouth and the new Fort Towson. Within a few years, the Army Corps of Engineers cleared the logjam.

Keeping the Red River safe was important because it was the US border with the Spanish Empire. So, the US built a line of forts along the border. Fort Towson in the Choctaw Nation was one of them. It was built on Gates Creek, near where it joins the Kiamichi. A military road was built from Fort Smith to Fort Towson. This road went through the Little River valley and then switched to the Kiamichi River near its southern end.

During the American Civil War, the last Confederate Army troops to surrender did so at Fort Towson. This happened on June 23, 1865. The Confederate States government had already fallen apart by then. Its armies surrendered one by one. While the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, Virginia seemed to end the war, it truly ended when the last Southern fighting troops surrendered at Fort Towson.

Transportation in the Kiamichi River valley changed a lot between 1882 and 1887. This was when the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, also known as the Frisco, was built. This railway was part of a national network connecting Fort Smith, Arkansas with Paris, Texas. It was built next to the Kiamichi River from Talihina to Kellond. Kellond was a small town three miles north of Antlers, Oklahoma. With the train came the telegraph and later the telephone.

The Frisco railway encouraged European Americans and European immigrants to settle in the Choctaw Nation. Towns grew up around each train station. Trade and new markets helped these towns grow. The river was important because it provided fresh, plenty of water for the trains, several of which ran every day.

The frequent train service encouraged developers to come and take natural resources. Timber companies and loggers soon moved in. Over the next few decades, they cut down the old-growth forest in the Kiamichi Mountains. Forestry is still the main industry in the area. Many smaller rail lines were built from the Frisco line. These lines went out along the creek valleys away from the river. Large saw mills became common in the valleys to process the wood.

During World War II, two planes from Britain's Royal Air Force crashed. They were on a training flight from a base in Texas. Bad weather caused one plane to crash into the south side of White Rock Mountain, above Moyers, Oklahoma. Another crashed on Big Mountain, between Moyers and Kosoma. Two pilots died in the second crash. In 2000, school children from Rattan, Oklahoma built the AT6 Monument on Big Mountain to honor them.

Also during World War II, the U.S. Navy honored the river. They launched the USS Kiamichi, hull number AOG-73. It was built by St. Johns River Shipbuilding in Jacksonville, Florida. It launched on August 17, 1945, just three days after Japan surrendered. Because the war ended, the ship's completion was canceled on August 29. It was a Klickitat-class gasoline tanker. Later, it was finished for International Tankers of Panama. The ship was renamed Transmere in 1951. In 1952, it was sold to Colombia and renamed Sancho Jimeno.

On October 29, 1961, President John F. Kennedy visited Big Cedar, east of Talihina, Oklahoma. He gave a speech marking the opening of U.S. Route 259.

In August 1975, the Kiamichi River was in the national news. Its low-lying areas were the scene of a days-long hunt for two elephants. They had escaped from a circus in Hugo, Oklahoma. They were found at Hugo Lake.

Fun and Recreation

Fishing and hunting are popular activities along the river. Boating is also common. American Whitewater, a private group, says that seven miles of the river near Big Cedar have "Class II-III rapids". In these upper parts of the river, kayaking is a popular sport for visitors. At Hugo Lake, boating and camping are popular. Sardis Lake isn't used much for big tourism yet, but its campgrounds are well used. Some boating and waterskiing also happen on Sardis Lake.

In 1988, Congress created the Upper Kiamichi River Wilderness. This area is at and below the Kiamichi River's source at Pine Mountain and Rich Mountain. This wilderness now covers 9,754 acres (3,947 hectares). It is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. A part of the river's watershed is also protected by the Ouachita National Forest.

Wildlife in the Kiamichi River Valley

Red-cockaded woodpecker

Three types of animals that are protected by the government live in the river valley. These are the Indiana bat, the red-cockaded woodpecker, and the leopard darter. The river is also home to many different kinds of mussels. Some of these mussels are quite rare.

Scientists have been studying the Kiamichi River since at least 1894. That's when the first scientific collection of fish was made at Walnut Creek near Albion, Oklahoma. This collection found 36 different kinds of fish. Since the Sardis and Hugo dams were built in the 1970s and 1980s, the river's environmental quality has suffered. The number of mussels drops a lot below where the Sardis dam releases water. They are almost gone as a species below where the Hugo dam releases water. Still, 101 species of fish continue to live, and some even thrive, in the river.