Verdigris River Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Verdigris River
The Verdigris River near Lenapah, Oklahoma
Map of the Verdigris watershed
Other name(s)	Van Horner Creek, Vermillion River, Wasetihoge River
Country	United States
State	Kansas, Oklahoma
Physical characteristics
River mouth	Arkansas River Muskogee, Oklahoma 489 ft (149 m) 35°48′01″N 95°18′28″W / 35.80028°N 95.30778°W / 35.80028; -95.30778
Length	310 mi (500 km)
Basin features
Progression	Verdigris-Arkansas-Mississippi
Tributaries	Right: Fall River, Elk River, Caney River
Waterbodies	Toronto Lake, Oologah Lake

The Verdigris River is a river in the United States. It flows through southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. The Verdigris River is a tributary, which means it's a smaller river that flows into a larger one. It joins the Arkansas River.

The river is about 310 miles (499 km) long. Its water eventually reaches the Mississippi River. This makes it part of the large Mississippi River watershed.

Where Does the Verdigris River Flow?
A Look Back at the Verdigris River's History
Dams, Lakes, and River Travel
Rivers That Join the Verdigris
Cities and Towns Along the River
Gallery
See also

Where Does the Verdigris River Flow?

The Verdigris River starts near Madison, Kansas. It forms when two smaller streams, called the North and South forks, come together. From there, it flows mostly south.

After passing Coffeyville, Kansas, the river enters Oklahoma. It then joins the Arkansas River near Muskogee, Oklahoma. This meeting point is special. It's about one mile upstream from where the Neosho River also joins the Arkansas River. Because three rivers meet here, this area is known as "Three Forks."

A Look Back at the Verdigris River's History

The Verdigris River has been important for a long time. Explorers like Zebulon Pike (in 1806) and Thomas Nuttall (in 1818) wrote about it. Fur traders also set up posts along the river. They met with Native Americans there to trade goods for furs.

The river is even mentioned in a famous book! In Little House on the Prairie (1935), Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about her family moving to Kansas near the river.

The name "Verdigris" might come from a greenish color. This color looks like a copper ore and used to tint the river's water. In 1834, a treaty with the Cherokee Indians used the river as part of the boundary for their lands.

In 1994, musician Tom Paxton wrote a song called "Along the Verdigris." It celebrates how peaceful and quiet the countryside around the river is.

In July 2007, a company in Coffeyville, Kansas had a problem. Their refinery had a spill of crude oil because of flooding from the Verdigris River. The company worked hard to clean up the area.

On May 25, 2019, people in Rogers County, Oklahoma got an alert. It warned that the river was rising very quickly. This message was sent to radios in nearby counties too.

Dams, Lakes, and River Travel

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built several dams on the Verdigris River. These dams create large lakes. Two of these are Toronto Lake near Toronto, Kansas and Oologah Lake near Oologah, Oklahoma. There are also more dams and reservoirs further downstream on the Arkansas River.

The Verdigris River is also used for transportation. From just north of Catoosa, Oklahoma to where it meets the Arkansas River, large boats called barges can travel on it. This is possible because of the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. This system uses a series of locks and dams on both the Arkansas and Verdigris rivers. It allows commercial boats to travel from the Tulsa, Oklahoma area all the way to the Mississippi River and then to the Gulf of Mexico.