The Beaver River is an
intermittent river
Intermittent, temporary or seasonal rivers or streams cease to flow every year or at least twice every five years.(Tzoraki et al., 2007) Such rivers drain large arid and semi-arid areas, covering approximately a third of the earth's surface. ...
, long, in western
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
and northern
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in the United States. It is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
North Canadian River
The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering North ...
, draining an area of
[U.S. Geological Survey. ]National Hydrography Dataset
The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a digital database of surface water features used to make maps. It contains features such as lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, canals, dams and stream gages for the United States.
Description
Cartographers ...
/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering Beaver River watershed (6-digit Hydrologic Unit Code
A hydrological code or hydrologic unit code is a sequence of numbers or letters (a '' geocode'') that identify a hydrological unit or feature, such as a river, river reach, lake, or area like a drainage basin (also called watershed in North Ameri ...
s 111001 and 111002), viewed i
The National Map
accessed 2019-09-25 in a
watershed that extends to northeastern
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
and includes most of the
Oklahoma Panhandle
The Oklahoma Panhandle (formerly called No Man's Land, the Public Land Strip, the Neutral Strip, or Cimarron Territory) is a salient in the extreme northwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, consisting of Cimarron County, Texas Count ...
.
Course
The Beaver River is formed in
Cimarron County, Oklahoma
Cimarron County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Boise City. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,296, making it the least-populous county in Oklahoma; and indeed, throughout most of its histo ...
, by the confluence of
Corrumpa Creek
Corrumpa Creek is a watercourse in New Mexico and Oklahoma. It originates at Weatherly Lake, located 9 miles east-southeast of Des Moines in Union County, New Mexico. It results from the South Branch Corrumpa Creek, which originates south-southw ...
and
Seneca Creek and flows generally eastward throughout its course. From Cimarron County it dips southward and flows for through
Sherman County, Texas
Sherman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,782. Its county seat is Stratford. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1889. It is named for Sidney Sherman, who fought in ...
,
then returns to Oklahoma for the remainder of its course, flowing through
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
,
Harper
Harper may refer to:
Names
* Harper (name), a surname and given name
Places
;in Canada
* Harper Islands, Nunavut
*Harper, Prince Edward Island
;In the United States
*Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County
* Harper, Il ...
,
Ellis
Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis.
Surname
A
* Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series ' ...
, and
Woodward Counties. The river passes to the north of the city of
Guymon, continues through the
Optima Lake
Optima Lake was built to be a reservoir in Texas County, Oklahoma. The site is just north of Hardesty and east of Guymon in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
The earthen Optima Lake Dam (National ID # OK20510) was completed in by the United States Arm ...
project, where it is joined by
Coldwater Creek just before the dam, flows through the town of
Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
, and passes to the north of the town of
Fort Supply. Northeast of Fort Supply, the Beaver River joins
Wolf Creek to form the
North Canadian River
The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering North ...
in the
Hal and Fern Cooper WMA.
Name and variants
The name "North Canadian River" has sometimes been applied to the Beaver River and one of its headwaters tributaries, Corrumpa Creek, including by the U.S. federal government from 1914 to 1970. A 1914 decision by the
U.S. Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...
(USBGN) defined the North Canadian River as including both streams as part of its course, with "Beaver River" as a variant name for a segment of it. A 1970 USBGN decision revised the 1914 definition, defining the Beaver River as beginning at the confluence of Corrumpa Creek and Seneca Creek, and ending where it joins
Wolf Creek to form the North Canadian River. The USBGN's
Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...
lists "Beaver Creek," "North Canadian River," "North Fork Canadian River," and "North Fork of Canadian River" as historical variant names for the river.
Flow
The river was known for occasional floods, including an October 1923 flood amounting to 109,000 acre-feet of water, and a September 1941 flood in which the Beaver's flow increased to 44,200 cubic feet per second.
[Section 216 Initial Appraisal Report, Optima Lake, September 2010, US Army Corps of Engineers] The river's most recent flow of significance was in October 1965 at 17,800 cubic feet per second.
Currently, the Beaver River and its tributaries flow with water intermittently, in part because the underground source of the river, the
Ogallala Aquifer
The Ogallala Aquifer () is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately in portio ...
, being the water table beneath far western Oklahoma and parts of seven other Western states, as well, has been subject to depletion in recent decades due to increased irrigation and drinking-water withdrawals. Water flow in the Beaver at
Guymon, in the years prior to the start of construction on the
Optima Lake
Optima Lake was built to be a reservoir in Texas County, Oklahoma. The site is just north of Hardesty and east of Guymon in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
The earthen Optima Lake Dam (National ID # OK20510) was completed in by the United States Arm ...
dam (1937–1966) averaged 32.2 ft
3/s, but only 7 ft
3/s in the decade (1977-1987) after the dam was built. In the last five years (1989–1993 inclusive) that the
U.S. Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
could measure its current near
Guymon, the Beaver's flow averaged less than one-fifth of 1 ft
3/s.
[Actually .1864 of 1 cubic foot per second, calculated from the annual data at the ]U.S. Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
Website waterdata.usgs.com, accessed 2017-05-23, using search parameters Surface Water, Historical Observations, Site Number, 07232500, Annual Statistics, checking the box for Discharge Cubic Feet Per Second, and submitting. A few short stretches, such as
McNees Crossing (one mile east of
New Mexico State Road 406), have persistent flow. The remainder flows under the sand except after rain falls or snow melts. The area drained by the Beaver River in the
high plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions:
* High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains
*High Plains (Australia)
The High Plains of south-eastern Australia are a sub-region, or more strictly a string of adja ...
of northeastern New Mexico and the
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
panhandles receives on average less than of rain annually.
The Beaver does occasionally still flow some distance. It was reported on April 18, 2016, that the river was flowing near Guymon for the first time in decades following two days of intense rains that caused
Texas County to be declared a disaster area.
Tributaries
Some of the major tributaries of Beaver River are (from west to east):
#
Seneca Creek a/k/a Cienequilla Creek ()
#
Sand Creek ()
#
Tepee Creek ()
#
Goff Creek ()
#
Pony Creek ()
#
Coldwater Creek ()
#
Palo Duro Creek ()
#
Red Horse Creek ()
#
Bull Creek ()
#
Jackson Creek ()
#
Sharp Creek ()
#
Willow Creek ()
#
Elm Creek ()
#
Dugout Creek ()
#
Home Creek ()
#
Timber Creek ()
#
Camp Creek ()
#
Kidds Creek ()
#
Mexico Creek ()
#
Kiowa Creek ()
#
Spring Creek
A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring creek may additionally be ...
()
#
Clear Creek ()
See also
*
List of rivers of Oklahoma
This is a list of rivers in the state of Oklahoma, listed by drainage basin, alphabetically, and by size. In mean flow of water per second, the Arkansas is Oklahoma's largest river, followed by the Red River and the Neosho River.
By drainage basi ...
*
List of rivers of Texas
The list of rivers of Texas is a list of all named waterways, including rivers and streams that partially pass through or are entirely located within the U.S. state of Texas. Across the state, there are 3,700 named streams and 15 major rivers acc ...
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Oklahoma
Rivers of Texas
Tributaries of the Arkansas River
Rivers of Cimarron County, Oklahoma
Rivers of Sherman County, Texas
Rivers of Texas County, Oklahoma
Rivers of Beaver County, Oklahoma
Rivers of Harper County, Oklahoma
Rivers of Woodward County, Oklahoma