The Platte River 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 ...

of the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed March 30, 2011 in southwestern

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and northwestern

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is sometimes known as the Little Platte River to distinguish it from the larger

Platte River The Platte River () is a major American river, in the state of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, w ...

, also a tributary of the Missouri, in nearby

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

; the Platte River of Missouri itself has a tributary known as the "Little Platte River". A variant spelling was 'Platt'.

Course

The Platte River rises near Creston in

Union County, Iowa Union County is a County (United States), county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 12,138. The county seat is Creston, Iowa, Creston. Organized at a tim ...

, and flows generally southwardly through

Adams Adams may refer to: * For persons, see Adams (surname) Places United States *Adams, California *Adams, California, former name of Corte Madera, California * Adams, Decatur County, Indiana *Adams, Kentucky *Adams, Massachusetts, a New England to ...

, Ringgold and

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

Counties in Iowa; and Worth, Nodaway,

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

, Buchanan and Platte Counties in Missouri. Along its course it passes the Iowa towns of Maloy, Blockton and Athelstan; and the Missouri towns of Sheridan, Parnell, Ravenwood, Conception Junction, Guilford, Tracy, Platte City and Farley. The Platte flows into the Missouri River near Farley, downstream of

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...

DeLorme DeLorme Publishing Company is a 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 rec ...

(1998). ''Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. .

(2002). ''Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. . Several sections of the river's course have been straightened and channelized.

History

When Missouri entered the union in 1821, the western border of Missouri from Arkansas to Iowa was based on the confluence of the

Kansas River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a meandering river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is potentially the southwestern most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is sometimes in turn the northwesternmost portion of ...

and

in the

West Bottoms The West Bottoms is a historic industrial neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, immediately west of downtown and straddling the border of Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas. At the confluence of the Missouri River and the Kansas R ...

in Kansas City. Land in what is now the northwest Missouri was deeded to the

Ioway The Iowa, also known as Ioway or Báxoje (, "grey snow people"), are a Native American tribe. Historically, they spoke a Chiwere Siouan language. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes: the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma ...

, Sauk and

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...

tribes. However, settlers (most notably Joseph Robidoux in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

) began encroaching on the land. Further settlers in northern Missouri were upset about being cut off from the Missouri. In 1836,

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

(of

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

) persuaded the tribes to sell their lands in northwest Missouri. The deal known as the

Platte Purchase The Platte Purchase was a land acquisition in 1836 by the United States government from American Indian tribes of the region. It comprised lands along the east bank of the Missouri River and added to the northwest corner of the state of Misso ...

was named for the river was ratified in 1837 and the tribes were paid $7,500 for an area about the combined size of Delaware and Rhode Island. The land was then annexed to Missouri. In 1838 settlers used the river (and the

Nodaway River The Nodaway River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 30, 2011 tributary that flows from southwest Iowa through northwest Missouri into the Missouri River. It ...

) to reach the heart of the newly available land. The Platte River is not used for transportation in modern times although Missouri River steam boats did call on

Tracy, Missouri Tracy is a city in Platte County, Missouri, Platte County, Missouri within the United States, located along the Platte River (Missouri River), Platte River. The population was 269 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is part of ...

. On September 3, 1861, bushwhackers burned a bridge over the river at

, derailing a Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad train killing between 17 and 20 and injuring 200 in one of the worst attacks on a passenger train in the

Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy The Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy was a bushwhacker attack on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad during the American Civil War on September 3, 1861, in which the train derailed on a bridge over the Platte River east of St. Joseph, Missouri, ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Union forces were to burn

Platte City, Missouri Platte City is a city in and the county seat of Platte County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,784 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. History Platte City was founded by Zadock "Zed" Mar ...

in 1861 and 1864 as they tried to force the residents to give up Silas M. Gordon, the suspected ringleader of the attack. The river is the biggest river in the Platte Purchase area and it flows through the

Kansas City Metropolitan Area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

as well as

metropolitan area. The river is an eighth order river. Average flow at mile 25.1 is 1,925 cubic feet second (54.5 m³/s). The highest flow was 37,800 ft³/s (1070 m³/s) during the

Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi River, Mississippi and Missouri River, Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from ...

on July 26, 1993. The lowest flow was 12 ft³/s (0.33 m/s) during a drought in August 1989.

Tributaries

The Platte River watershed contains a few major streams in their own right. *Near its headwaters in Iowa the Platte collects minor branches known as the West Platte River, Middle Platte River, and East Platte River. *In Buchanan County, Missouri, it collects the

One Hundred and Two River The One Hundred and Two River is a tributary of the Platte River of MissouriU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 30, 2011 in northwestern Missouri in the United S ...

and the Third Fork Platte River. The Third Fork collects the Little Third Fork, which flows southwardly through DeKalb and Buchanan Counties, past Clarksdale. Before leaving Buchanan County Castile Creek enters from the northeast. *In Platte County, Missouri, it collects the Little Platte River, which rises in DeKalb County and flows south-southwestwardly through Clinton and

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

Counties, past Plattsburg and Smithville. Near Smithville, a

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

causes the Little Platte River to form Smithville Lake. The following is a comprehensive list of all named direct and indirect tributaries of the Platte River: PlatteRiverNearCreston