The Cossatot River is an river in

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

, Polk and Sevier counties 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 so ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. The Cossatot begins in the

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

southeast of

Mena, Arkansas Mena ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Polk County, Arkansas, Polk County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 5,558 as of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. Mena is included in the Ark-La-Tex socio-economic region. Surro ...

. The river flows through the

Ouachita National Forest The Ouachita National Forest is a vast congressionally-designated United States National Forest, National Forest that lies in the western portion of Arkansas and portions of extreme-eastern Oklahoma, USA. History The Ouachita National Forest is ...

and then in a generally southerly direction until it empties into Gillham Lake. After exiting Gillham Lake the river becomes leisurely until it joins with the Little River at the site where it empties into Millwood Lake. Cossatot comes from an Indian term which translates roughly to skull crusher. The Cossatot is known as a difficult (class II - IV+) whitewater stream to canoeists and kayakers and a section at Cossatot Falls in Howard County, Arkansas has been called "the most challenging section of whitewater between the Smokies and the Rockies," though there are many more challenging runs in the state of Arkansas, such as Richland Creek, Crooked Creek or the Upper Buffalo (Hailstone run). An 11-mile (18-km) section including Cossatot Falls is designated as the

Cossatot River State Park-Natural Area Cossatot River State Park-Natural Area is a List of Arkansas state parks, Arkansas state park in Howard County, Arkansas, Howard County and Polk County, Arkansas, Polk County, Arkansas in the United States. The park follows a rough, undeveloped ...

. Cossatot Falls is a series of back-to-back class III-IV+ rapids that drops around 40 feet in 1/8 of a mile. Rapid names are Cossatosser (class II+), Eye Opener, B.M.F. (class III), Washing Machine (class IV+), Whiplash, (class III+), and Shoulderbone (class II), with Deer Camp Rapid (class III), Devil's Hollow Rapid (class III+), and Devil's Hollow Falls (class IV) located downstream of the Falls area. Zigzag (Class III) and the Esses (class III) are other notable rapids on the Cossatot, located above the Falls. Whitewater rapid classes vary depending on water level. At certain higher levels near flood state, almost all of the Cossatot Falls turn into one long rapid. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fleet oiler USS ''Cossatot'' (AO-77) is named after this river. Camping sites are located near the Cossatot Falls area, and at the nearby Brushy Creek Recreation area. The Cossatot is listed as a ''

National Wild and Scenic River The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-f ...

'' and an ''Arkansas Natural and Scenic River''.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Arkansas Tributaries of the Red River of the South Rivers of Polk County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Howard County, Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States

See also

References