The Elk River is a [U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map , accessed May 31, 2011] tributary of the Neosho River in southwestern Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States.
Course
The Elk is formed by the confluence of Big Sugar Creek and Little Sugar Creek at Pineville, Missouri, and flows generally westward through McDonald County, Missouri, past the town of Noel, into Delaware County, Oklahoma, where it meets the Neosho River. Most of the river's course in Oklahoma is part of the Grand Lake o' the Cherokees, an impoundment formed by
Pensacola Dam on the Neosho.
[ Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer, DeLorme, 1998, First edition, p. 60, ][ Oklahoma Atlas & Gazetteer, Delorme, 1st ed. 1998, p. 27, ] The portion of the river between the confluence of Big and Little Sugar Creeks and the
dam at Noel, Missouri is a popular route for recreational
canoeing,
kayaking,
rafting, and tubing.
Name
The river was said to have been named after
elk in the area. However, it has also been reported that the name was originally
Cowskin and was changed to
Elk due to the influence of Steve Elkins, a local politician.
See also
-
List of Missouri rivers
-
List of Oklahoma rivers
