The Walnut 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

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United ...

, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed March 29, 2011 in the

Flint Hills The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region in eastern Kansas and north-central Oklahoma named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surface. It consists of ...

region of

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

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Via the Arkansas, 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 Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

. According to the

GNIS 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 in the past as the "Little

Verdigris River The Verdigris River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ...

Course

The Walnut River rises in northern Butler County and flows generally southward through Butler and Cowley Counties, past the towns of

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king ...

, Augusta,

Winfield Winfield may refer to: Places Canada * Winfield, Alberta * Winfield, British Columbia United States * Winfield, Alabama * Winfield, Arkansas * Winfield, Georgia * Winfield, Illinois * Winfield, Indiana * Winfield, Iowa * Winfield, Kansas * W ...

and Douglass. It joins the Arkansas River at Arkansas City. The Walnut's principal tributaries are the Whitewater River, which joins it at Augusta, and the

Little Walnut River Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, which joins it in southern Butler County. The Walnut River drainage basin comprises in an ecoregion characterized by rocky, rolling hills and prairie. Elevations range from in the basin. Average precipitation, mostly summer rainfall, varies from annually.

Tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachm ...

is the most common vegetation, covering 66 percent of the land. Crop land covers 23 percent and woodlands cover five percent. Major crops are wheat, soybeans, cotton, hay, sorgum, and corn. Cattle are the most important livestock."Walnut River Basin." http://www.kwo.org/Kansas%20Plan/SWP/KWP_2008/Vol_III_Docs/WAL/Rpt_WAL_Basin_Description_KWP2009.pdf Upstream of El Dorado, a

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

dam causes the river to form

El Dorado Lake El Dorado Lake is a reservoir on the Walnut River northeast of El Dorado in the Flint Hills region of Kansas. Built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it is used for flood control, recreation, and water supply. El Dorado State Park ...

, along which a Kansas

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

has been designated. The lake consists of about of water with another 8,000 acres of land along its shores designated as park and wildlife areas. The other large lake in the Walnut River basin is Winfield City Lake with of water surrounded by of parkland. Both lakes offer recreational opportunities including fishing, boating, hunting, camping, and wildlife observation. In Winfield, the east side of the old Tunnel Mill Dam is a public fishing spot. It is staged directly near the old Kickapoo Corral. The west side of the dam and the Kickapoo Corral are both privately owned and closed to the public. A whirlpool is created by a hole in solid limestone about down on the river bed directly off the cliffs of the Corral. The bottom is sandy and somewhat rocky.

Historical sites

Near the mouth of the Walnut River, in eastern Arkansas City, are a large number of archaeological sites, including the historical city of Etzanoa, a Wichita settlement that flourished between 1450 and 1700 and housed perhaps 20,000 people. This site was visited in 1601 by

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

governor

Juan de Oñate Juan de Oñate y Salazar (; 1550–1626) was a Spanish conquistador from New Spain, explorer, and colonial governor of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México in the viceroyalty of New Spain. He led early Spanish expeditions to the Great ...

Festival

The

Walnut Valley Festival The Walnut Valley Festival is an acoustic music festival held annually in Winfield, Kansas, United States. The main genre of music is bluegrass, but a wide variety of other acoustic styles are represented. The festival is held on the Wednesday ...

is held along the banks in Winfield.

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 message ...

(2003). ''Kansas Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. .

External links

Corps of Engineers' El Dorado Lake websiteEl Dorado State Park website
* {{authority control Rivers of Kansas Rivers of Butler County, Kansas Rivers of Cowley County, Kansas

Course

Historical sites

Festival

See also

Sources

External links