The Sac River (pronounced, sock) is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
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. It is long,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed May 31, 2011 with
headwaters
The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source.
Definition
The ...
in western
Greene County. The stream passes through the northeast corner of
Lawrence County then re-enters Greene County. The stream enters
Dade County northwest of
Ash Grove. The stream enters
Stockton Lake
Stockton Lake is a reservoir located in southeastern Cedar County, Missouri, Cedar County, northeastern Dade County, Missouri, Dade County, and southwestern Polk County, Missouri. The lake is 'V' shaped, and covers , with of shoreline.
It has th ...
in Dade County between
Dadeville and
Greenfield, then flows north exiting Stockton Lake in
Cedar County
Cedar County may refer to:
* Cedar County, Iowa
* Cedar County, Missouri
* Cedar County, Nebraska
* Cedar County, Choctaw Nation
* Cedar County, Washington
The list of county secession proposals in the United States includes proposed new coun ...
. The stream
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 north into
St. Clair County, passes under
US Route 54
U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific and Rock Island Lines "Golden ...
and enters the
Osage River
The Osage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The eighth-largest river i ...
in
Truman Reservoir
The Harry S Truman Reservoir, also known as Truman Lake, is located in the state of Missouri, United States. It is located between Clinton and Warsaw, on the Osage River and extends south to Osceola. The dam is located in Benton County, but th ...
southeast of
Osceola
Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...
.
Large portions of the Sac River and the
Little Sac River The Little Sac River is a stream in Greene, Polk and Dade counties the Ozarks of southwest Missouri, U.S.A.
The stream source coordinates are: and the confluence coordinates are: .
The Little Sac headwaters start with an intermittent stream jus ...
are inundated by
Stockton Lake
Stockton Lake is a reservoir located in southeastern Cedar County, Missouri, Cedar County, northeastern Dade County, Missouri, Dade County, and southwestern Polk County, Missouri. The lake is 'V' shaped, and covers , with of shoreline.
It has th ...
.
The river was named after the
Sac Indians
The Sauk or Sac are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group, who lived primarily in the region of what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin, when first encountered by the French in 1667. Their autonym is oθaakiiwaki, and th ...
.
The
Big Eddy Site
The Big Eddy Site ( 23CE426) is an archaeological site located in Cedar County, Missouri, which was first excavated in 1997 and is now threatened due to erosion by the Sac River.
Location and general description
The Sac River has created a cut ...
, an
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
dig
Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock (geology), rock on the surface of Earth. Di ...
, is along the Sac River within Cedar County. Eleven feet of river
sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
at the site provides a
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigrap ...
that suggests more than 10,000 years of nearly constant occupation by
American Indians, potentially pre-dating the
Clovis culture
The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleoamerican culture, named for distinct stone and bone tools found in close association with Pleistocene fauna, particularly two mammoths, at Blackwater Locality No. 1 near Clovis, New Mexico, in 1936 ...
and contributing to the knowledge of the
Dalton
Dalton may refer to:
Science
* Dalton (crater), a lunar crater
* Dalton (program), chemistry software
* Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit
* John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist
Entertainment
* Dalton (Buffyverse), minor cha ...
and
San Patrice cultures.
See also
*
List of rivers of Missouri
List of rivers in Missouri (U.S. state).
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.
Mississippi River
Arkansas River
*Mississippi River
**Arkansas River (AR ...
References
External links
The Big Eddy Site from th
Center for Archeological Researchat
Missouri State University
Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...
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Rivers of Missouri
Bodies of water of the Ozarks
Rivers of Cedar County, Missouri
Rivers of Dade County, Missouri
Rivers of Greene County, Missouri
Rivers of Lawrence County, Missouri
Rivers of St. Clair County, Missouri
Tributaries of the Missouri River