The Gasconade River is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 31, 2011 and is located in central and south-central

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 Gasconade River begins 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 ...

southeast of Hartville in Wright County and flows generally north-northeastwardly through Wright, Laclede, Pulaski,

Phelps Phelps may refer to: Places in the United States * Phelps, Kentucky * Phelps, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Phelps, New York ** Phelps (village), New York * Phelps, Wisconsin, a town ** Phelps (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated co ...

, Maries, Osage and Gasconade counties, through portions of the

Mark Twain National Forest Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) is a U.S. United States National Forest, National Forest located in the southern half of Missouri. MTNF was established on September 11, 1939. It is named for author Mark Twain, a Missouri native. The MTNF cover ...

. It flows into the Missouri River near the town of Gasconade in Gasconade County. At Rich Fountain, the river has a mean annual discharge of 3,097 cubic feet per second.

Name

The name Gasconade is derived from "Gascon", an inhabitant of the French region of

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

. The people of that province were noted for their boastfulness. It was applied by the early French to the Indians living on its banks who bragged about their exploits. The name means to boast or brag, and thus the river received its name. The waters of the river are boisterous and boastful and the name is also descriptive.

River course

The headwaters of the Gasconade are in the southeastern corner of Webster County northeast of

Seymour, Missouri Seymour is a city in southeastern Webster County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,921 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Seymour was laid out in 1882. The town wa ...

where it drains the eastern margin of the Springfield Plateau at approximately . The river joins the Missouri River at the city of Gasconade at .USGS Gasconade 7.5 min. Quad
/ref> The river follows a meandering course through the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

age

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

bedrock of the Ozark

Salem Plateau Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

creating spectacular bluffs and

incised meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

s along the way. Numerous

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

s and

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s occur within the drainage area and along the river course. Significant tributaries include the Osage Fork of Webster and Laclede counties and

Roubidoux Creek Roubidoux Creek is a tributary to the Gasconade River in the Ozarks of south central Missouri named after French-Canadian fur trader Joseph Robidoux. It is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe ...

and Big Piney River of

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 ...

and Pulaski counties. The Roubidoux and Big Piney flow respectively along the west and east boundaries of

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard W ...

which lies a short distance south and east of the Gasconade. The plateau surface near the midpoint is above the river bottom near the river midpoint northeast of Waynesville creating scenic river bluffs. At the junction with the Missouri the river bottom is about lower in elevation than the old plateau surface above the river. The elevation of the plateau rim at the headwaters is at or above with local hilltops at over (second highest elevation in Missouri near Cedar Gap). The elevation at the confluence with the Missouri is giving an overall drainage basin relief of . The Gasconade River is the longest river completely within the boundary of Missouri. It has been called one of the world's crookedest rivers.

Recreational use

It is ranked with a difficulty of I and II (seldom) by those who

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

, kayak and float. It is considered a good float stream because there's typically not a heavy congestion of

boats A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

. It is common to go for many miles without seeing another boat. There are

s and an abundance of

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

along the river and is considered a popular place by anglers for its

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

and smallmouth bass.

Notes

Sources

Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
*

DeLorme DeLorme is the producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company’s main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and receive text messages ...

(2002). ''Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. . *
Missouri Canoe - an electronic reprint of a Missouri Department of Conservation documentCanoe Missouri
{{authority control Rivers of Missouri Rivers of Gasconade County, Missouri Rivers of Laclede County, Missouri Rivers of Maries County, Missouri Rivers of Osage County, Missouri Rivers of Phelps County, Missouri Rivers of Pulaski County, Missouri Rivers of Wright County, Missouri Bodies of water of the Ozarks Tributaries of the Missouri River

Name

River course

Recreational use

See also

Notes

Sources