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Meramec River
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For articles with similar names, see Meramec (disambiguation), Merrimac (disambiguation), and Merrimack (disambiguation).
For the spring at the head of the Meramec River and the park encompassing it, see Maramec Spring.
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Meramec River
River
At Onondaga Cave State Park
Country
United States
State
Missouri
Region
Ozarks
Tributaries
- left Bourbeuse River
- right Big River
Cities
Steelville, Missouri, Sullivan, Missouri, Pacific, Missouri, Valley Park, Missouri, Arnold, Missouri
Source
- location Dent County, Missouri
- elevation 1,075 ft (328 m)
- coordinates 37°30′29″N 91°19′39″W / 37.50806°N 91.32750°W / 37.50806; -91.32750
Mouth
Mississippi River
- location Arnold, Missouri
- elevation 350 ft (107 m)
- coordinates 38°23′26″N 90°20′40″W / 38.39056°N 90.34444°W / 38.39056; -90.34444Coordinates: 38°23′26″N 90°20′40″W / 38.39056°N 90.34444°W / 38.39056; -90.34444
Length
229 mi (369 km)
Basin
3,980 sq mi (10,308 km2)
The Meramec River (/ˈmɛrɪmæk/) is one of the longest free-flowing waterways in Missouri, draining 3,980 square miles (10,300 km2)[1] while wandering 218 miles (351 km)[2] from headwaters near Salem to where it empties into the Mississippi River near St. Louis at Arnold and Oakville. The Meramec watershed covers six Missouri Ozark Highland counties—Dent, Phelps, Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, and St. Louis—and portions of eight others—Maries, Gasconade, Iron, Washington, Reynolds, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, and Texas. Between its source and its mouth, it falls 1,025 feet (312 m). Year-round navigability begins above Maramec Spring, just south of St. James. The Meramec's size increases at the confluence of the Dry Fork, and its navigability continues until the river enters the Mississippi at Arnold, Missouri.
The Meramec River looking north from Route 66 State Park
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Ecology
3 Meramec Basin Project
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links
History[edit]
Canoers enjoy a float trip on the Meramec below Leasburg
The first European explorer was French Jesuit priest Jacques Gravier, who traveled the river in 1699–1700. The name likely means 'the river of ugly fishes' or 'ugly water' in Algonquian. Early variant spellings of the name were Mearamigoua, Maramig, Mirameg, Meramecsipy, Merramec, Merrimac, Mearmeig, and Maramecquisipi. Early on, the river became an important industrial shipping route, with lead, iron, and timber being sent downstream by flatboat and shallow-draft steamboat.
Today, the river is used commercially by tourboats and sand and gravel mining barges. It also is used by canoe outfitters and ferry boat excursions. Numerous trails travel along the river and up over the bluffs, giving the hiker a glimpse of ducks, herons, beavers and other species of wildlife which may be seen along the river.
Ecology[edit]
At one time, the river was listed as one of the most polluted rivers in Missouri. Local and state government along the river have taken tremendous steps in cleaning it up. Today the river is one of the most diverse waters in Missouri. The river is plentiful in black crappie, channel catfish, flathead catfish, largemouth bass, paddlefish, rainbow trout, brown trout, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white crappie, and some of the richest mussel beds in the state. The endangered Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) also lives in the river.
The Meramec River includes one of only three Red Ribbon Trout Areas in the state of Missouri, hosting healthy rainbow trout and brown trout populations where large springs flowing into the river provide the cool water required by these species. Red Ribbon trout streams are managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation to produce trophy-sized fish.
Maramec Spring is the fifth-largest spring in Missouri. Maramec Spring Park, south of St. James, is the home of an historic iron works and trout fishery.
The Meramec River flowing through Castlewood State Park near St. Louis
Meramec Basin Project[edit]
This map shows the extent of the main reservoir that would have been created at Sullivan by the Meramec Basin Project.
The free-flowing Meramec River and several of its tributaries narrowly avoided being impounded by several dams proposed by the Corps of Engineers.[3] The United States Congress authorized several large dams in the upper Mississippi and Meramec river basins in 1938 following severe flooding in 1927 and 1937. World War II intervened, and plans were delayed and altered, but the Meramec Basin Project finally started moving forward in the 1960s. The main dam was to be at Sullivan, Missouri, at Meramec State Park, with several additional dams upstream. These plans ran into opposition from the growing environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as from recreational users of the free-flowing Meramec. The failure of the Teton Dam in 1976 increased the public's doubt about the wisdom of the project.
Grass-roots opposition forced politicians originally in favor of the project to reconsider. At the request of Senators Jack Danforth and Tom Eagleton, Missouri Governor Kit Bond allowed a non-binding referendum to be put on ballots in twelve surrounding counties. On August 8, 1978, 64 percent of the voters rejected the dam proposal. The referendum carried no legal weight but caused Congress to reconsider. Under President Jimmy Carter, funding was removed from the project. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill de-authorizing the project. This was one of the first times that a Corps of Engineers project was stopped once construction had begun, and it marked a major victory for the American environmental movement.
See also[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meramec River.
List of Missouri rivers
Tributaries: Big River, Bourbeuse River, Courtois Creek
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Location"
Jump up ^ Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Executive Summary"
Jump up ^ Watkins, 2006
References[edit]
Watkins, Conor. "The Meramec Basin Project: A Look Back 25 Years Later", Ozark Mountain Experience, Article 69 & 70 Combined. 2006.
Blanc, Todd J.; Caldwell, Mark; Hawks, Michelle Hawks. "Meramec River". Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
External links[edit]
Missouri Trout Hunter
Meramec Greenway
US EPA Meramec River Website
National Park Service: Missouri
U.S. Department of the Interior Water Resources of Missouri
The Meramec Basin Project - A Look Back 25 Years Later
Meramec River flood damage (Video) from March 2008
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Meramec_River&oldid=785913650"
Categories:
Rivers of Missouri
Bodies of water of the Ozarks
Tributaries of the Mississippi River
Rivers of Dent County, Missouri
Rivers of Phelps County, Missouri
Rivers of Crawford County, Missouri
Rivers of Franklin County, Missouri
Rivers of Jefferson County, Missouri
Rivers of St. Louis County, Missouri
Rivers of Maries County, Missouri
Rivers of Gasconade County, Missouri
Rivers of Iron County, Missouri
Rivers of Washington County, Missouri
Rivers of Reynolds County, Missouri
Rivers of St. Francois County, Missouri
Rivers of Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri
Rivers of Texas County, Missouri
Hidden categories:
Articles needing additional references from May 2011
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Coordinates on Wikidata
Geobox usage tracking for river type
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