The Nishnabotna River () is a

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 Missouri River in southwestern

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, northwestern

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 ...

and southeastern

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

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 territori ...

. It flows for most of its length as two parallel streams in Iowa, the East Nishnabotna River and the West Nishnabotna River. The east and west branches are each about long; from their confluence the Nishnabotna flows approximately another .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 30, 2011 Several sections of the rivers' courses have been straightened and heavily channelized. The name "Nishnabotna" comes from an Otoe (Chiwere) word meaning "canoe-making river."

Course

East Nishnabotna River

The East Nishnabotna rises in southwestern Carroll County and flows generally south-southwestwardly through

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Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Ca ...

, Pottawattamie, Montgomery,

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and Fremont Counties, past the towns of Exira, Brayton,

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

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, Elliott, Shenandoah,

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and Riverton. At Red Oak, the river's average discharge is 506 cubic feet per second.

West Nishnabotna River

The West Nishnabotna River rises in southwestern Carroll County and also flows generally south-southwestwardly through Crawford, Shelby, Pottawattamie,

Mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

and Fremont Counties, past the towns of

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, Kirkman, Harlan, Avoca,

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...

, Oakland and Carson. At Harlan it collects the West Fork West Nishnabotna River, which rises in southwestern Carroll County and flows southwestwardly through Crawford and Shelby Counties, past Manilla and Defiance. Near Avoca it collects the East Branch West Nishnabotna River, which rises in southwestern Carroll County and flows southwestwardly through Audubon, Shelby and Pottawattamie Counties, past

Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

. The West Nishnabotna was the topic of a humorous song "Four Wheel Drive" on the 1975 C.W. McCall album ''

Wolf Creek Pass Wolf Creek Pass is a high mountain pass on the Continental Divide, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. It is the route through which U.S. Highway 160 passes from the San Luis Valley into southwest Colorado on its way to New Mexico and Ariz ...

''. At

Randolph, Iowa Randolph is a city in Fremont County, Iowa, United States. The population was 189 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the birthplace of Virginia Smith, Republican U.S. representative from the 3rd District of Nebraska from 1975 until 1991. H ...

, the river averages 747 cubic feet per second.

Lower river

Map of the McKissick Island of Missouri and Nebraska

The East and West rivers merge in southwestern Fremont County and continue as the Nishnabotna River for its short course past

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and into northwestern

Atchison County, Missouri Atchison County is the northwesternmost county in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 5,305. Its county seat is Rock Port. It was originally known as Allen County when it was detached from Holt C ...

, where it flows into the Missouri River 2 mi (3 km) west of Watson. In the last mile of the river it flows from Missouri to Nebraska and back to Missouri before entering the Missouri river in west central Atchison County, MO. This is because an 1867 flood straightened a bend in the Missouri and caused the Nishnabotna to flow about two miles further to reach the Missouri. The Nishnabotna forms roughly the southeastern border of the 5,000 acre

McKissick Island McKissick Island (also known as McKissick's Island) is a former island in the Missouri River that is part of Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States. It is now fully east of the river, which is Nebraska's normal eastern border, and it can only ...

which was the land Nebraska and Missouri both claimed. The Supreme Court in 1904 officially drew the border with Nebraska getting the land although it is east of Nebraska's normal eastern border which is the river. At Hamburg, the river has a mean annual discharge of 1,441 cubic feet per second.

Recreation

Parks along the river include Botna Bend in Hancock, Willow Slough Wildlife Management Area 3 miles southwest of Henderson, and Riverton Wildlife Management Area, just north of Riverton. Canoe rentals are available at Botna Bend. The best paddling is between Hancock and Carson on the west fork and between Lewis and Griswold on the east fork (see "Paddling Iowa" by Nate Hoogeveen). The

Wabash Trace The Wabash Trace Nature Trail is a rail trail located in Iowa which stretches from the city of Council Bluffs southeast to the city of Blanchard. History This rail trail was part of the Wabash Railroad's Omaha to St. Louis rail line. It passes ...

Nature Trail crosses both forks. At its crossing of the west fork one can see the wreckage of a freight train that derailed and went into the drink in the 1960s.

Variant names

According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

, the river has also been known as: Other literature sourcesStuart, Robert
The Discovery of the Oregon Trail: Robert Stuart's Narratives of His Overland Trip Eastward from Astoria in 1812-13
page 243. (University of Nebraska Press, 1935). cite many of the above name in addition to:

Sources

Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
* DeLorme (1998). ''Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. . * DeLorme (2002). ''Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. . *GNIS entries for , , , ,
The Origin of Certain Place Names of the United States
{{authority control Rivers of Iowa Rivers of Missouri Rivers of Nebraska Tributaries of the Missouri River Rivers of Otoe County, Nebraska Rivers of Nemaha County, Nebraska Rivers of Carroll County, Iowa Rivers of Audubon County, Iowa Rivers of Cass County, Iowa Rivers of Pottawattamie County, Iowa Rivers of Montgomery County, Iowa Rivers of Page County, Iowa Rivers of Fremont County, Iowa