Finley Creek

{{Short description|River in the United States of America}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Finley Creek

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| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = United States

| subdivision_type2 = State

| subdivision_name2 = Missouri

| subdivision_type3 = Counties

| subdivision_name3 = Christian, Webster and Stone

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| discharge1_location= Riverdale, MO

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| discharge1_avg = 281 cu/ft. per sec.{{Cite web|url=https://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/annual/?format=sites_selection_links&search_site_no=07052345&agency_cd=USGS&referred_module=sw|title = USGS Surface Water data for Missouri: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics}}

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| source1_coordinates= {{coord|37|06|55|N|92|41|50|W|display=inline}}

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| mouth_location = James River in Stone County

| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|36|57|54|N|93|21|46|W|display=inline,title}}

| mouth_elevation = {{convert|1020|ft|abbr=on}}

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| tributaries_left = Stewart Creek

| tributaries_right = Pedelo Creek, Parched Corn Creek

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Finley Creek is a stream in the Ozarks of southern Missouri.{{GNIS|717922}}Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer, DeLorme, 1998, First edition, p. 62-63, {{ISBN|0-89933-224-2}} The headwaters of the Finley are in Webster County southeast of Seymour. The stream flows west-southwest into Christian County, through Ozark and into the northeast corner of Stone County to its confluence with the James River at the old townsite of Jamesville. The Finley is bridged by Missouri Route 125 at Linden, Missouri Route 14 and US Route 65 in Ozark, and US Route 160 southwest of the old Riverdale dam.Highlandville Missouri 7.5 Minute Topographic Quad, USGS, 1955

Some say Finley Creek was named after John Finley, who accompanied Daniel Boone to Kentucky in 1769. Others contend that the pair didn’t meet until after Finley had left Kentucky.{{cite web | url=http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_webster.html | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624071608/http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_webster.html | archivedate=June 24, 2016 | url-status=live | title=Webster County Place Names, 1928–1945 | publisher=The State Historical Society of Missouri | accessdate=September 21, 2021}} The creek is also rumored to be named after James Finley, an early hunter.{{cite web|url=http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_christian.html |title=Christian County Place Names, 1928–1945 (archived) |publisher=The State Historical Society of Missouri |accessdate=19 September 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624071710/http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_christian.html |archivedate=24 June 2016 }}