Platte River (Iowa and Missouri)

The Platte River rises near Creston in Union County, Iowa, and flows generally southwardly through Adams, Ringgold and Taylor Counties in Iowa; and Worth, Nodaway, Andrew, Buchanan and Platte Counties in Missouri. Along its course it passes the Iowa towns of Maloy, Blockton and Athelstan; and the Missouri towns of Sheridan, Parnell, Ravenwood, Conception Junction, Guilford, Tracy, Platte City and Farley. The Platte flows into the Missouri River near Farley, downstream of Leavenworth, Kansas.DeLorme (1998). Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. {{ISBN|978-0-89933-214-7}}.DeLorme (2002). Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. {{ISBN|978-0-89933-353-3}}.

Several sections of the river's course have been straightened and channelized.

{{main article|Platte Purchase}}

When Missouri entered the union in 1821, the western border of Missouri from Arkansas to Iowa was based on the confluence of the Kansas River and Missouri River in the West Bottoms in Kansas City. Land in what is now the northwest Missouri was deeded to the Ioway, Sauk and Meskwaki tribes.

However, settlers (most notably Joseph Robidoux in St. Joseph, Missouri) began encroaching on the land. Further settlers in northern Missouri were upset about being cut off from the Missouri.

Image:Nodaway-lewis.jpg map of 1814 shows the river identified as the "Little River Platte"]]

In 1836, William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) persuaded the tribes to sell their lands in northwest Missouri. The deal known as the Platte Purchase was named for the river was ratified in 1837 and the tribes were paid $7,500 for an area about the combined size of Delaware and Rhode Island. The land was then annexed to Missouri.

In 1838 settlers used the river (and the Nodaway River) to reach the heart of the newly available land. The Platte River is not used for transportation in modern times although Missouri River steam boats did call on Tracy, Missouri.

On September 3, 1861, bushwhackers burned a bridge over the river at St. Joseph, Missouri, derailing a Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad train killing between 17 and 20 and injuring 200 in one of the worst attacks on a passenger train in the Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy during the American Civil War. Union forces were to burn Platte City, Missouri in 1861 and 1864 as they tried to force the residents to give up Silas M. Gordon, the suspected ringleader of the attack.

The river is the biggest river in the Platte Purchase area and it flows through the Kansas City Metropolitan Area as well as St. Joseph, Missouri metropolitan area. The river is an eighth order river.

Average flow at mile 25.1 is 1,925 cubic feet second (54.5 m³/s). The highest flow was 37,800 ft³/s (1070 m³/s) during the Great Flood of 1993 on July 26, 1993. The lowest flow was 12 ft³/s (0.33 m/s) during a drought in August 1989.

The Platte River watershed contains a few major streams in their own right.

• Near its headwaters in Iowa the Platte collects minor branches known as the West Platte River,{{Gnis|462899|West Platte River}} Middle Platte River,{{Gnis|459046|Middle Platte River}} and East Platte River.{{Gnis|456189|East Platte River}}
• In Buchanan County, Missouri, it collects the One Hundred and Two River and the Third Fork Platte River. The Third Fork collects the Little Third Fork,{{Gnis|729538|Little Third Fork}} which flows southwardly through DeKalb and Buchanan Counties, past Clarksdale. Before leaving Buchanan County Castile Creek enters from the northeast.
• In Platte County, Missouri, it collects the Little Platte River, which rises in DeKalb County and flows south-southwestwardly through Clinton and Clay Counties, past Plattsburg and Smithville. Near Smithville, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam causes the Little Platte River to form Smithville Lake.

The following is a comprehensive list of all named direct and indirect tributaries of the Platte River:

File:PlatteRiverNearCreston.jpg

• Todd Branch
• Saylings Creek
• Metz Creek
• West Platte River

• Gard Branch
• Turkey Branch
• Middle Platte River
• East Platte River
• East Branch Middle Platte River

• Platte Branch

• Long Branch
• Cottonwood Creek
• Brushy Creek
• Honey Creek
• Morgan Branch
• Hog Branch
• Wolf Pen Branch
• Fox Branch

• Niagara Creek
• Crooked Creek
• Agee Creek
• Hickory Creek
• Clear Creek

• Demoss Branch
• Castile Creek
• Tributaries of Castile Creek
• Belcher Branch
• Rock Creek
• Pigeon Creek
• Riley Branch
• Third Fork Platte River
• Tributaries of the Third Fork Platte River
• Candy Creek
• One Hundred and Two River
• Tributaries of the One Hundred and Two River

File:Platte River Missouri.jpg

• Prairie Creek
• Sand Branch
• Fox Creek
• Big Creek
• Lanter Branch
• Gibson Branch
• Hettich Branch
• Murray Branch
• Clear Branch
• Jowler Creek
• Little Platte River
• Tributaries of the Little Platte River
• Alger Creek
• Shanks Branch
• Dicks Creek
• Owl Creek
• Bell Creek
• Grove Creek
• Holland Branch
• Chestnut Branch
• Mitchell Branch

• List of tributaries of the Missouri River
• List of Iowa rivers
• List of Missouri rivers

{{Reflist}}

• [https://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/320_2022_PlatteRiver.pdf Missouri Department of Conservation Profile of the River]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/19991113143424/http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/smithville/smithville_home.htm Smithville Lake website]
• {{Commons category-inline|Little Platte River|position=left}}

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Category:Rivers of Iowa

Category:Rivers of Missouri

Category:Tributaries of the Missouri River

Category:Rivers of Platte County, Missouri

Category:Rivers of Buchanan County, Missouri

Category:Rivers of Andrew County, Missouri

Category:Rivers of Nodaway County, Missouri

Category:Rivers of Worth County, Missouri

Category:Rivers of Taylor County, Iowa

Category:Rivers of Ringgold County, Iowa

Category:Rivers of Adams County, Iowa

Category:Rivers of Union County, Iowa