Republican River

Map of the Republican River and its tributaries

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America. It flows 729 km through the U.S. states of Nebraska and Kansas.

Geography

The Republican River is formed by the confluence of the North Fork Republican River and Arikaree River north of Haigler in Dundy County. He joins southeast of Benkelman with the South Fork Republican River. All three tributaries originate in the High Plains in northeastern Colorado. The Republican River flows predominantly in an easterly direction along the southern boundary of Nebraska, flows through the Swanson Reservoir and Harlan County Reservoir before it turns south and enters the Smoky Hills region of Kansas. The Republican River joins the Smoky Hill River at Junction City to Kansas River.

Some places along the river course are: McCook, Clay Center, Concordia and Junction City. Near Concordia lies the Republican River Pegram Truss, a bridge that leads over the Republican River and included in the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The river was named after a tribe of the Pawnee Indians, who were known as "the Republicans " ( Stewart 1967:223 ). The use of the waters of the Republican River, is governed by an agreement between the States Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado, the so-called Republican River Compact.