Caney River

The Caney River (Lenape: Kènii Sipu [4]) is a 180-mile-long (290 km)[2] river in southern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. The river is a tributary of the Verdigris River, and is usually a flatwater stream.

Caney River
Little Verdigris, Cana, Connie
Native nameKènii Sipu (Unami)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateKansas, Oklahoma
CityBartlesville, OK
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationElk County, Kansas, United States
 • coordinates37°29′14″N 096°28′34″W[1]
 • elevation548 ft (167 m)
MouthVerdigris River
 • location
Near Verdigris, Oklahoma, United States
 • coordinates
36°20′16″N 095°41′57″W[1]
 • elevation
167 ft (51 m)[1]
Length180 mi (290 km), South[2]
Discharge 
 • locationRamona
 • average1,701 cu ft/s (48.2 m3/s)[3]
Basin features
River systemVerdigris River

The Caney forms just north of the town of Grenola in Elk County, Kansas, then moves south into Oklahoma near Elgin, Kansas. It then flows south through Osage County, where it is dammed near Bowring to form Hulah Lake. Downstream of the Hulah dam, the river flows into Washington County through the center of Bartlesville, where it separates the city's downtown from its residential east side. Just south of Bartlesville, the river turns southeast and flows into Rogers County, where it joins the Verdigris River between Collinsville and Claremore.[5]

The river is normally flat water, except when there are heavy rainstorms within the drainage area. It is popular for canoeing, both above and below Hulah Lake. However, there are almost no facilities for boaters between Wah-Sha-She State Park (near Hulah Dam) and the confluence with the Verdigris River.[5]

The river caused disastrous floods in the Bartlesville area in 1885, 1926 and 1986.[6]

The dam at Hulah Lake is operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. In October 1986 the Corps was forced to open floodgates at the dam due to above-average rainfall in the Great Plains.[7] The resulting 500-year flood split Bartlesville virtually in half for several days and caused more than US$30 million in property damage.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. "Caney River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 1978-12-18. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 31, 2011
  3. "USGS Surface Water data for Oklahoma: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics".
  4. "Lenape Talking Dictionary". Archived from the original on 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
  5. McCord, Mark W. Southwest Paddlers, "Caney River." Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  6. "History of Bartlesville and Washington County, Oklahoma: Caney River." Retrieved April 27, 2012."Bartlesville Area History: Caney River". Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  7. 1986 Global Register of Extreme Flood Events - DFO#1986-038. Dartmouth Flood Observatory. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
  8. Trammell, Karen.In Weather History: The Floods of September and October 1986. The Southern Plains Cyclone. National Weather Service, Autumn 2003. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
  9. Associated Press. "Middle Western Floods Threaten New Areas", The New York Times, 1986-10-07. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
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