Wichita River

The Wichita River (/ˈwɪtʃɪtɔː/ WITCH-i-taw), part of the Red River watershed, lies in north-central Texas. Rising in northeastern Knox County at the confluence of its North and South Forks, the river flows 90 miles (140 km) northeast across Baylor, Archer, Wichita, and Clay counties before joining the Red River just west of Byers Bend in northern Clay County.

The Texan Santa Fe Expedition crossed the river at the site of present-day Wichita Falls in 1841 and found a large Wichita Indian village at the site; the river was later named after the tribe. Today, the largest human settlement on the river is the city of Wichita Falls, which was named after a five-foot waterfall on the river that later washed away in a flood in 1886. The city after nearly 100 years of visitors wanting to visit the non-existent falls built an artificial waterfall beside the river in Lucy Park. The recreated falls are 54 feet (16 m) high and recirculate at 3,500 gallons per minute. They are visible to south-bound traffic on Interstate 44.

The river is dammed in Archer County, forming Lake Diversion, and in Baylor County, forming Lake Kemp; there are also two small reservoirs on the river in Wichita County, one furnishing water for the town of Iowa Park and the other providing water for local irrigation.

The Wichita River has three tributaries; the Wichita proper, as stated above, is formed by the confluence of its North and South Forks. The North Fork runs for 100 miles (160 km) from northeastern Dickens County through King, Cottle, and Foard counties before joining the South Fork. The Middle Fork flows 35 miles (56 km) from north-central King County to its meeting with the North Fork in southwestern Foard County. The South Fork rises in eastern Dickens County and runs for 100 miles (160 km) through King and Knox Counties before joining the North Fork; the King County seat of Guthrie lies on the South Fork.

References

"WICHITA RIVER", Handbook of Texas Online, accessed April 12, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Assessment of Channel Changes, Models of Historical Floods and Effects of Backwater on Flood Stage, and Flood Mitigation Alternatives for the Wichita River at Wichita Falls, Texas United States Geological Survey

33°43′N 99°29′W / 33.717°N 99.483°W / 33.717; -99.483

v t e Waters of Texas
Bays and estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico	Alazan Bay Aransas Bay Baffin Bay Carancahua Bay Christmas Bay Copano Bay Corpus Christi Bay Dickinson Bay East Bay East Matagorda Bay Espiritu Santo Bay Galveston Bay Guadalupe Bay Laguna Madre Lavaca Bay Matagorda Bay Nueces Bay Oso Bay Redfish Bay Sabine Lake San Antonio Bay South Bay St. Charles Bay Tres Palacios Bay Trinity Bay West Bay
Channels and canals	Acequia Madre de Valero American Canal Aransas Pass Bolivar Roads Brazos Santiago Pass Cedar Bayou Franklin Canal Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Houston Ship Channel Matagorda Ship Channel Pass Cavallo Port Mansfield Channel Riverside Canal Sabine Pass Sabine–Neches Waterway San Luis Pass
Lakes and reservoirs	Amistad Reservoir Caddo Lake Canyon Lake Cedar Creek Reservoir Choke Canyon Reservoir Falcon International Reservoir Inks Lake Lady Bird Lake Lavon Lake Lake Austin Lake Bardwell Lake Buchanan Lake Conroe Lake Corpus Christi Lake Ray Hubbard Lake Ray Roberts Lake LBJ Lake Livingston Lake Marble Falls Lake Meredith Lake Tawakoni Lake Texoma Lake Travis Lewisville Lake Richland-Chambers Reservoir Sam Rayburn Reservoir Toledo Bend Reservoir
Rivers	Angelina River Blanco River Bosque River Brazos River Buffalo Bayou Colorado River Concho River Canadian River Guadalupe River James River Lampasas River Lavaca River Leon River Little River Llano River Navidad River Neches River Nolan River Nueces River Frio River Paluxy River Pease River Pedernales River Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River Red River Rio Grande Devils River Pecos River Sabine River San Antonio River Medina River San Bernard River San Gabriel River San Jacinto River San Marcos River San Saba River Sulphur River Trinity River Wichita River White River
Wetlands	Big Cypress Bayou Cow Bayou Ottine wetlands Rincon Bayou Rio Grande Valley

See also

References