Cimarron River (Arkansas River tributary)

Cimarron River
The Cimarron River, near Forgan, Oklahoma
Map of the Arkansas River basin with the Cimarron River highlighted.
Etymology	Río de los Carneros Cimarrones (Spanish for 'River of the Wild Sheep')
Native name	Ñíxgu / Ñíhgu (Iowa-Oto) Hotóao'hé'e (Cheyenne)
Location
Country	United States
State	Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma
Cities	Cushing, Oklahoma, Mannford, Oklahoma, Guthrie, Oklahoma
Physical characteristics
Source	Confluence of Dry Cimarron River and Carrizozo Creek
• location	Kenton, Cimarron County, Oklahoma
• coordinates	36°54′24″N 102°59′12″W / 36.90667°N 102.98667°W / 36.90667; -102.98667[1]
• elevation	4,318 ft (1,316 m)
Mouth	Arkansas River
• location	Keystone Lake, at Westport, Pawnee County, Oklahoma
• coordinates	36°10′14″N 96°16′19″W / 36.17056°N 96.27194°W / 36.17056; -96.27194[1]
• elevation	722 ft (220 m)
Length	698 mi (1,123 km)
Basin size	18,950 sq mi (49,100 km2)
Discharge
• location	Guthrie, Oklahoma, 65 miles (105 km) from the mouth[2]
• average	1,163 cu ft/s (32.9 m3/s)[3]
• minimum	0.3 cu ft/s (0.0085 m3/s)
• maximum	158,000 cu ft/s (4,500 m3/s)

The Cimarron River (/ˈsɪmərɒn, -roʊn/ SIM-ə-ro(h)n; Iowa-Oto: Ñíxgu or Ñíhgu, meaning 'Salt River';^[4] Cheyenne: Hotóao'hé'e) extends 698 miles (1,123 km) across New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas. The headwaters flow from Johnson Mesa west of Folsom in northeastern New Mexico. Much of the river's length lies in Oklahoma, where it either borders or passes through eleven counties. There are no major cities along its route. The river enters the Oklahoma Panhandle near Kenton, Oklahoma, crosses the corner of southeastern Colorado into Kansas, reenters the Oklahoma Panhandle, reenters Kansas, and finally returns to Oklahoma where it joins the Arkansas River at Keystone Reservoir west of Tulsa, Oklahoma, its only impoundment. The Cimarron drains a basin that encompasses about 18,927 square miles (49,020 km²).^[5]