Marais des Cygnes River facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marais des Cygnes River
Big Osage River, Brush Creek, Grand River, Old Aunt Mary River
Mussel beds on the bank of the Marais des Cygnes River
Country	United States
State	Kansas, Missouri
Tributaries
- left	110 Mile Creek, Bull Creek
- right	Pottawatomie Creek
Source confluence
- location	Lyon County, Kansas
- elevation	1,112 ft (339 m)
- coordinates	38°34′05″N 95°58′28″W / 38.56806°N 95.97444°W / 38.56806; -95.97444
Mouth	Osage River
- location	Vernon County, Missouri
- elevation	722 ft (220 m)
- coordinates	38°01′39″N 94°14′39″W / 38.02750°N 94.24417°W / 38.02750; -94.24417
Length	217 mi (349 km)
Discharge	for USGS 06916600 near Kansas-Missouri state line
- average	2,189 cu ft/s (62 m³/s)
- max	129,000 cu ft/s (3,653 m³/s)
- min	0 cu ft/s (0 m³/s)
Watersheds	Marais des Cygnes-Osage-Missouri-Mississippi
Reservoirs	Melvern Lake

The Marais des Cygnes River is a principal tributary of the Osage River. It is about 217 miles (349 km) long, and runs through eastern Kansas and western Missouri in the United States. Via the Osage and Missouri rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The name Marais des Cygnes means "Marsh of the Swans" in French. But the name actually comes from an Osage name “Mixa-ckau-tse” (where white swans are plentiful). It was probably so named because of the trumpeter and tundra swans that were plentiful here before the late 1800s. The river is notorious for flash flooding. The river is referenced in the song "The River" by Chely Wright.