Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River
| Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River | |
| Stream | |
 View from Texas State Highway 207
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| Country |  United States |
|---|---|
| States |  Texas,  Oklahoma |
| City nearest to source | Canyon, Texas |
| Location | Randall, Armstrong, Briscoe, Hall, Childress County, Texas, Harmon County, Oklahoma |
| Head | 2.9 km northeast of Canyon |
| - location | Randall County, Texas |
| - elevation | 1,058 m (3,471 ft) |
| - coordinates | 35°00′09″N 101°54′09″W / 35.0025°N 101.9025°W [1] |
| Mouth | 13 km south-southwest of Hollis |
| - location | Harmon County, Oklahoma |
| - elevation | 468 m (1,535 ft) |
| - coordinates | 34°34′35″N 99°57′54″W / 34.57639°N 99.965°W [2] |
| Length | 193 km (120 mi) |
| Basin | 19,762 km2 (7,630 sq mi) [3] |
| Website: Handbook of Texas: Prairie Dog Town Fork | |
Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River is a sandy-braided stream about 193 km (120 mi) long, formed at the confluence of Palo Duro Creek and Tierra Blanca Creek, about 2.9 km (1.8 mi) northeast of Canyon in Randall County, Texas, and flowing east-southeastward to the Red River about 1.6 km (1 mi) east of the 100th meridian, 13 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Hollis, Oklahoma.[4]
Contents |
[edit] Geography
The Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River is the southernmost of two major forks which form the headwaters of the Red River. It begins as an ephemeral stream on the level surface of the Llano Estacado in Randall County, about 6.4 km (4 mi) northeast of Canyon, Texas. The stream initially runs northeastward then southeastward across Randall County, flowing through Palo Duro Canyon where it is fed by springs, providing a base flow that is often increased significantly by runoff from rainstorms.[5] The stream continues in a southeasterly direction through southern Armstrong and northeastern Briscoe County where it exits Palo Duro Canyon and starts across the rolling red-bed country of central Hall and Childress counties, merging with Buck Creek and forming the Red River proper, 13 km south-southwest of Hollis, Oklahoma.[4] When the Prairie Dog Town Fork crosses the 100th meridian at the eastern edge of Childress County, Texas, its south bank becomes the state boundary between Texas and Oklahoma.[6]
[edit] Proper name
According to a 1959 decision by the United States Board on Geographical Names, this main tributary of the Red River is properly called the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River, and should not be called the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, Prairie Dog Town Fork of Red River, or the South Fork of the Red River.[4]
[edit] See also
- Adams–Onís Treaty
- Palo Duro Canyon
- Llano Estacado
- Yellow House Canyon
- Blanco Canyon
- Double Mountain Fork Brazos River
[edit] References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Palo Duro Creek
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River
- ^ Seaber, P.R., Kapinos, F.P. and Knapp, G.L. 1987. Hydrological unit maps. United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2294, p. 44.
- ^ a b c United States Board on Geographical Names. 1960. Decisions on Geographical Names in the United States and Puerto Rico, Decisions rendered in May, June, July, and August, 1959, Decision list no. 5903, United States Department of the Interior, Washington DC, p. 51.
- ^ Brune, G.M. 1981. Springs of Texas. Fort Worth, TX: Branch-Smith, p. 377-380.
- ^ "Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River". Handbook of Texas Online. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/PP/rnp4.html. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
