Kansas River

Kansas River Kaw River, Padouca River, Riviere de Commanches o Padocas[1]
The Kansas River at De Soto, Kansas
Map of the Kansas River drainage basin
Location
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Physical characteristics
Source confluence
• location	Junction City, Kansas
• coordinates	39°03′35″N 96°48′04″W / 39.05972°N 96.80111°W / 39.05972; -96.80111
• elevation	1,041 ft (317 m)
Mouth	Missouri River
• location	Kansas City, Kansas
• coordinates	39°06′55″N 94°36′38″W / 39.11528°N 94.61056°W / 39.11528; -94.61056[1]
• elevation	718 ft (219 m)
Length	148 mi (238 km)
Basin size	60,114 sq mi (155,690 km2)
Discharge
• average	7,240 cu ft/s (205 m3/s)
• minimum	353 cu ft/s (10.0 m3/s)
• maximum	133,172 cu ft/s (3,771.0 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Republican River, Big Blue River, Delaware River
• right	Smoky Hill River, Wakarusa 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 the extensive Mississippi River drainage. Its two names both come from the Kanza (Kaw) people who once inhabited the area; Kansas was one of the anglicizations of the French transcription Cansez (IPA: [kɑ̃ze]) of the original kką:ze.^[2] The city of Kansas City, Missouri, was named for the river,^[3] as was later the state of Kansas.^[4][5]

The river valley averages 2.6 miles (4.2 km) in width, with the widest points being between Wamego and Rossville, where it is up to 4 miles (6.4 km) wide, then narrowing to 1 mile (1.6 km) or less in places below Eudora and De Soto. Much of the river's watershed is dammed for flood control, but the Kansas River is generally free-flowing and has only minor obstructions, including diversion weirs and one low-impact hydroelectric dam.