Elk Valley is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

Christian County Christian County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Christian County, Illinois * Christian County, Kentucky * Christian County, Missouri Christian County is located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. ...

in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

of southwest

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 ...

. The headwater area of the valley and associated

intermittent stream 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. ...

is located at and the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with

Finley Creek Finley Creek is a stream in the Ozarks of southern Missouri.''Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer,'' DeLorme, 1998, First edition, p. 62-63, The headwaters of the Finley are in Webster County southeast of Seymour. The stream flows west-southwest into Ch ...

is at . The confluence is at an elevation of . The source area for the valley stream lies about one mile northwest of the community of Christian Center and on the south edge of the Springfield Plateau. The stream flows northwest, crossing under U.S. Route 65 midway between Selmore and

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

. The stream continues and passes under and parallels

Missouri Route F 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 additi ...

reaching its confluence with Finley Creek about one mile northeast of Riverdale. Elk Valley was named for the fact the valley was a hunting ground of

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

by pioneers. The elk were hunted out in the 1880s. Lead and zinc mines produced ore up until the 1920s. One mine in Ozark was reported to have produces as much as 180 tons of lead ore in or around 1904. The mines are still in the valley; some have shafts of 100 feet or more. There are at least seven mines in the Elk Valley area.

References

Valleys of Christian County, Missouri Valleys of Missouri {{ChristianCountyMO-geo-stub