The North Fork Spring River is a stream in Lawrence, Dade, Barton and

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

counties of southwest

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

.Feature Detail Report for: North Fork Spring River, U.S. Geological Survey. Geographic Names Information System
/ref> It is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...

to the Spring River. The

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

are located in northwest Lawrence County at and the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the Spring River is in Jasper County at . The stream source is an

intermittent stream Intermittent, temporary or seasonal rivers or streams cease to flow every year or at least twice every five years. Such rivers drain large arid and semi-arid areas, covering approximately a third of the Earth's surface. The extent of temporary ...

just south of the Dade-Lawrence county line and east of county road 1070. The stream flows west and then northwest crossing the county line and

Missouri Route NN A supplemental route is a state secondary road in the U.S. state of Missouri, designated with letters. Supplemental routes were various roads within the state which the Missouri Department of Transportation was given in 1952 to maintain in add ...

into Dade County just to the east of Missouri Route 97 and about one mile from the source. The stream crosses under Route 97 and flows northwest to exit Dade County and enter Barton County just east of Golden City. The stream flows north passing under U. S. Route 160 east of Golden City and again to the north as its course veers northwest. The stream crosses under 160 again as it passes northeast of Lamar. The stream turns to the west and the south as it passes Lamar and again passing under route 160 and flowing south paralleling

U. S. Route 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Intersta ...

. The stream crosses under Route 71 and flows south under Missouri Route 126 and on into Jasper County northwest of

. The stream turns southwest passing north of Preston and meanders west past Neck City prior to its confluence with the Spring River west of the community of Galesburg. At

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ...

, the river has a mean annual discharge of . The stream has historically been referred to as Dry Fork, Dry Fork Spring River, Muddy Creek, Muddy Fork Spring River and North Fork Creek.

References

Rivers of Barton County, Missouri Rivers of Dade County, Missouri Rivers of Jasper County, Missouri Rivers of Lawrence County, Missouri Rivers of Missouri {{LawrenceCountyMO-river-stub