The Saline River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed March 29, 2011

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Smoky Hill River The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through Colorado and Kansas.Smoky Hill River. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.br ...

in the central

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, a ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. The entire length of the river lies in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

in the northwest part of the state. Its name comes from the French translation of its

Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

name Ne Miskua, referring to its salty content.

Geography

The Saline River originates in the

High Plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions: * High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains *High Plains (Australia) The High Plains of south-eastern Australia are a sub-region, or more strictly a string of adja ...

of northwestern

. The south fork of the river rises near the Sherman County- Thomas County line while its north fork rises in central Thomas County. The confluence of the two streams lies in Sheridan County roughly northwest of

Grinnell, Kansas Grinnell is a city in Gove County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 260. History Grinnell was named for businessman Moses Hicks Grinnell. The first newspaper in Grinnell was the ''Golden Belt'', i ...

. It flows east for through the Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas and joins the

approximately 1 mile south of

New Cambria, Kansas New Cambria is a city in Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 106. History New Cambria was named after Cambria County, Pennsylvania, the native home of an early settler. The first post ...

in Saline County. The Saline is sluggish and unnavigable with no major tributaries and has a riverbed of

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

and mud. The Saline River drains an area of . The combined Smoky Hill-Saline Basin drains . Via the Smoky Hill,

, and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Rivers, it is part of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

watershed. In Russell County, the river is dammed to form Wilson Lake. The course of the Saline River runs through these counties: * Thomas County, Kansas *

Sheridan County, Kansas Sheridan County (standard abbreviation: SD) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,447. Its county seat is Hoxie. The county was named in honor of Phillip H. Sheridan, a general of ...

Graham County, Kansas Graham County (county code GH) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,415. Its county seat and most populous city is Hill City. The county is home to Nicodemus, founded 1877, which ...

Trego County, Kansas Trego County (standard abbreviation: TR) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,808. Its county seat and largest city is WaKeeney. History Early history For many millennia, the ...

Ellis County, Kansas Ellis County (county code EL) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 28,934. Its county seat and most populous city is Hays. Ellis County is the official German Capital of Kansas. ...

* Russell County, Kansas *

Lincoln County, Kansas Lincoln County (standard abbreviation: LC) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,939. The largest city and county seat is Lincoln Center. History For many millennia, the Great Pl ...

Ottawa County, Kansas Ottawa County (standard abbreviation: OT) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,735. The largest city and county seat is Minneapolis. History Early history For many millennia, ...

Saline County, Kansas Saline County (standard abbreviation: SA) is located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 54,303. The largest city and county seat is Salina. History Early history For many millennia, the Great Pla ...

History

The first recorded reference to the Saline River was on October 18, 1724, by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

explorer Etienne Venyard de Bourgmont who reported finding a "small river where the water was briny". Bourgmont was on his way to negotiate a peace treaty with the Padouca whose "Grand Village" was then located on the Saline's banks. In 1806, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

expedition led by

Zebulon Pike Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado was named. As a U.S. Army officer he led two expeditions under authority of President Thomas Jefferson ...

crossed the river on its way to visit the Pawnee. By 1817, the river was known as the "Grand Saline". The Pawnee and the Kanza, who used the area as hunting and trapping ground, claimed land along the Saline until the 1850s when American settlers began to arrive. The

Kansas–Nebraska Act The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law ...

of 1854 established

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the free state of Kansas. ...

, which included the entire length of the Saline River. By 1873, the U.S. government had forcibly removed the Kanza to a reservation in

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

(now

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

). In August 1867,

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

warriors massacred a party of railroad workers in Ellis County, an incident which led to a battle between the Cheyenne and

Buffalo Soldier Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in th ...

s from

Fort Hays Fort Hays, originally named Fort Fletcher, was a United States Army fort near Hays, Kansas. Active from 1865 to 1889 it was an important frontier post during the American Indian Wars of the late 19th century. Reopened as a historical park in 1 ...

that became known as "The Battle of the Saline River". The Saline River flooded periodically during the late 19th century with particularly destructive floods occurring in 1858, 1867, and 1903. In 1964, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

dammed the river in eastern Russell County for flood control, creating Wilson Lake.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Ellis County, Kansas Rivers of Graham County, Kansas Rivers of Lincoln County, Kansas Rivers of Ottawa County, Kansas Rivers of Kansas Rivers of Russell County, Kansas Rivers of Sheridan County, Kansas Rivers of Thomas County, Kansas Rivers of Trego County, Kansas Tributaries of the Kansas River

Geography

History

See also

References