List of rivers of Oklahoma facts for kids

Welcome to a guide about the amazing rivers of Oklahoma! This page lists all the important rivers in the state. You'll find them organized in different ways: by where their water flows (called a drainage basin), in alphabetical order, and by how much water they carry. The Arkansas River is the biggest river in Oklahoma, carrying the most water. After that comes the Red River and the Neosho River.

How Rivers Flow: Drainage Basins

Rivers are like branches on a tree, all connected! This section shows how Oklahoma's rivers are grouped by their 'drainage basin.' A drainage basin is an area of land where all the water flows into one main river. Smaller rivers that flow into a bigger one are called 'tributaries.' They are listed underneath the main river, indented like a family tree.

Mississippi River Basin

All the rivers in this section eventually flow into the mighty Mississippi River.

Red River System

• Red River
  • Little River
    • • Mountain Fork
      • Glover River
    • Kiamichi River
      • Buck Creek
    • Muddy Boggy Creek
      • Clear Boggy Creek
    • Blue River
    • Island Bayou
    • Washita River
      • Wildhorse Creek
      • Little Washita River
    • Beaver Creek
    • Cache Creek
      • East Cache Creek
      • West Cache Creek

*Deep Red Creek

• • • North Fork Red River
      • Sweetwater Creek
      • Elm Fork Red River
    • Salt Fork Red River
    • Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River

Arkansas River System

• Mississippi River (AR)
  • Arkansas River
    • Poteau River
      • James Fork
      • Fourche Maline
    • Lee Creek
    • Sans Bois Creek
    • Little Sans Bois Creek
    • Sallisaw Creek
    • Canadian River
      • North Canadian River

*Deep Fork River *Lightning Creek *Beaver River **Palo Duro Creek **Coldwater Creek *Wolf Creek

• • • • Little River
    • Illinois River
      • Caney Creek
      • Baron Fork
      • Flint Creek
    • Neosho River (Grand River)
      • Elk River

*Buffalo Creek

• • • • Spring Creek
      • Spring River
    • Verdigris River
      • Bird Creek

*North Bird Creek *Middle Bird Creek *South Bird Creek *Coal Creek *Dirty Butter Creek *Flat Rock Creek *Fry Creek *Haikey Creek *Hominy Creek *Joe Creek *Mingo Creek

• • • • Caney River
    • Cimarron River
      • North Carrizo Creek

*East Carrizo Creek *West Carrizo Creek

• • • • South Carrizo Creek
      • Skeleton Creek
    • Black Bear Creek
    • Red Rock Creek
    • Salt Fork Arkansas River
      • Chikaskia River
      • Medicine Lodge River

Rivers in Alphabetical Order

This list helps you quickly find any river by its name.

• Arkansas River
• Baron Fork
• Beaver River
• Bird Creek
• Black Bear Creek
• Blue River
• Buck Creek
• Buffalo Creek
• Cache Creek
• Canadian River
• Caney River
• Chikaskia River
• Cimarron River
• Clear Boggy Creek
• Deep Fork River
• Elk River
• Elm Fork Red River
• Fourche Maline
• Glover River
• Grand River (also known as the lower part of the Neosho River)
• Illinois River
• Island Bayou
• James Fork
• Kiamichi River
• Lightning Creek
• Little River (Canadian River tributary)
• Little River (Red River tributary)
• Medicine Lodge River
• Mountain Fork
• Muddy Boggy Creek
• Neosho River
• North Canadian River
• North Fork Red River
• Poteau River
• Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River
• Red River
• Red Rock Creek
• Sallisaw Creek
• Salt Fork Arkansas River
• Salt Fork Red River
• Sans Bois Creek
• Spring Creek
• Spring River
• Sweetwater Creek
• Verdigris River
• Washita River

Oklahoma's Rivers by Size

This section shows how much water each river carries on average. The numbers are in "cubic feet per second" (cfs). Imagine a cube that's one foot long, one foot wide, and one foot high – that's one cubic foot of water! One cubic foot is about 0.0283 cubic meters.

This information comes from the "Annual Water Data Report" by the USGS in 2008. You can find it online at http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2008/search.jsp and http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ok/nwis/current/?type=flow&group_key=NONE. Just remember that the average water flow can change a little bit each year!

See Also

• List of lakes of Oklahoma
• List of rivers of the United States