The Cuivre River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 13, 2011 river in the east central part of the state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, north of the Missouri River terminus. A good part of its course marks the borders between

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

and St. Charles counties before emptying into the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

north of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. The

Cuivre River State Park Cuivre River State Park is a public recreation area covering more than northeast of the city of Troy in the Lincoln Hills region of northeastern Missouri, United States. The state park's rugged landscapes range from native grasslands and sava ...

near

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

has its southwestern borders on the river. The river is considered a navigable stream by the Missouri water patrol.

Path

The stream headwaters are the North and West forks which merge just west of

US Route 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated ...

about three miles northwest of

at and an elevation of 470 feet. The stream flows east crossing under Route 61 and then turns southeast passing under

Missouri Route 47 Route 47 is a highway in eastern Missouri. Its northern terminus is at Route 79 near Winfield; its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 67 in Bonne Terre. Route description The highway begins at Route 79 in Winfield, MO, where it travels due w ...

two miles east of Troy. The stream meanders to the southeast passing under

Missouri Route C A supplemental route is a state secondary road in the U.S. state of Missouri, designated with letters. Supplemental routes were various roads within the state which the Missouri Department of Transportation was given in 1952 to maintain in additio ...

just east of Moscow Mills. The stream continues to the southeast until reaching the Lincoln-St. Charles county line where it gains the major tributary of Big Creek. The stream turns east and forms the Lincoln-St. Charles county line. The stream flows northeast passing south of Chain of Rocks and crosses under

Missouri Route 79 Route 79 is a highway in eastern Missouri. Its northern terminus is at Interstate 72/U.S. Route 36 in downtown Hannibal; its southern terminus is at Interstate 70 in St. Peters. The route closely parallels the Mississippi River. History When R ...

southwest of Old Monroe. The stream meanders east to meet the Mississippi at Cuivre Slough which is part of the Mississippi River west of Cuiver Island. The confluence is at at an elevation of 423 feet. At Troy, the river has a mean annual discharge of 699 cubic feet per second.

Name

The Cuivre River received its name from French-speaking settlers in

French Louisiana The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions: * first, to Louisiana (New France), colonial French Louisiana, comprising the massive, middle section of North America claimed by Early Modern France, France during the 17th and 18th centu ...

. The name means "

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

", though none is present along the river, and it is thought to have been named after Baron Georges Leopold Cuvier, a French naturalist and paleontologist, who was first to do comparative anatomy and the classification of animals and fossils. When France acquired the territory west of the Mississippi River, Cuvier sent two of his students to America to get specimens of flora and fauna and to assess the climate and topography of the new acquisition. When the young men reached the river in what is now the Lincoln County area, it was known to the local French as ''Rivière aux Boeufs'' because of the numerous bison roaming its banks. The two scientists decided a more impressive name for the stream would be "Cuvier", and labeled it such on their maps. When the English-speaking settlers arrived, the spelling was changed to "Cuivre" and the pronunciation anglicized to "Quiver".State Historical Society of Missouri: Lincoln County
/ref> Variant names for the stream include Buffaloe River, Copper River, Cuvier River, La Quevr, Queevere River, Quiver River, Quivre River, Riviere au Boeuf, Riviere au Cuivre, Riviere aux Boeuf, and Riviere aux Cuivre.

History

The Battle of the Sink Hole was fought near the mouth of the Cuivre at the end of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

References

{{authority control Rivers of Missouri Rivers of Lincoln County, Missouri Rivers of St. Charles County, Missouri