Pike Creek is a

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

and Shannon counties in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

of southern

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 ...

. It is a tributary of the Current River. The stream

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 in Shannon 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 Current is in Carter County at . The source area of the stream lies just east of Bartlett and north of

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

. The stream flows east passing under

Missouri Route 19 Route 19 is a long state highway in Missouri. Its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 61 in New London and its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 63 on the north side of Thayer. Route 19 is one of Missouri's original 1922 highways, though ...

at Winona. The stream course roughly parallels Route 60 as it passes Low Wassie and Fremont. The stream enters Carter County east of Low Wassie. Just north of Fremont the stream course includes several tight

incised meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank or river cliff) and deposits sediments on an inn ...

s as it passes the old Midco Iron Works site. The stream enters the Current River at Van Buren. Although the source of the name ''Pike'' is disputed, the

State Historical Society of Missouri The State Historical Society of Missouri, a private membership and state funded organization, is a comprehensive research facility located in Columbia, Missouri, specializing in the preservation and study of Missouri's cultural heritage. Estab ...

believes

pike fish ''Esox'' is a genus of freshwater fish commonly known as pike or pickerel. It is the type genus of the family Esocidae. The type species of the genus is '' Esox lucius'', the northern pike. ''Esox'' have a fossil record extending back to the ...

in the stream most likely accounts for the name.

References

Rivers of Carter County, Missouri Rivers of Shannon County, Missouri Rivers of Missouri Tributaries of the Current River (Ozarks) {{ShannonCountyMO-river-stub

See also

References