Rapid Creek is a tributary of the
Cheyenne River
The Cheyenne River ( lkt, Wakpá Wašté; "Good River"), also written ''Chyone'', referring to the Cheyenne people who once lived there, is a tributary of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is approximately 2 ...
, approximately 86 mi (138 km) long, in
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The creek's name comes from the Sioux Indians of the area, for the many
rapids in the stream.
Course
It rises in southwestern South Dakota, in the
Black Hills National Forest
Black Hills National Forest is located in southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, United States. The forest has an area of over 1.25 million acres (5,066 km²) and is managed by the Forest Service. Forest headquarters are locate ...
in the
Black Hills
The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...
in
Pennington County. It flows east, is joined by
Castle Creek, past
Silver City and through the
Pactola Reservoir. Emerging from the Black Hills, it flows through
Rapid City
Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...
, past
Farmingdale, and joins the Cheyenne River approximately 13 mi (21 km) southwest of
Wasta.
1972 flood
![Rapidcreek1972flood](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Rapidcreek1972flood.jpg)
The Rapid Creek is most noted for the
Black Hills flood of 1972, in which 238 people perished in Rapid City and in the
Black Hills
The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...
.
Since the flood, a
flood plain has been established throughout the city making development along the banks inconsiderable.
See also
*
List of rivers of South Dakota
This is a list of rivers in the state of South Dakota in the United States.
By tributary
Minnesota River watershed
* Little Minnesota River
** Jorgenson River
*Whetstone River
*North Fork Yellow Bank River
*South Fork Yellow Bank River
*West Bran ...
References
External links
*
*
Rivers of South Dakota
Black Hills
Rivers of Pennington County, South Dakota
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