Blue River (Missouri River tributary)

The Blue River (also known as the Big Blue River) is a 39.8-mile-long (64.1 km)^[3] stream that flows through Johnson County, Kansas, and Jackson County, Missouri, in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The river rises in Johnson County, Kansas at the confluence of Coffee Creek and Wolf Creek near the border of the states of Kansas and Missouri. Crossing the city of Kansas City, Missouri, it empties into the Missouri River near the border between Kansas City and Independence, Missouri.

Blue River Big Blue River
Blue River at Byram's Ford where the Battle of Byram's Ford (a skirmish of the Battle of Westport) was fought by Swope Park
Blue River in the Kansas City metropolitan area
Location
Country	United States
State	Kansas, Missouri
City	Kansas City
Physical characteristics
Source	confluence of Coffee Creek and Wolf Creek
• location	East Johnson County, Kansas, United States
• coordinates	38°48′31″N 094°40′50″W[1]
• elevation	904 ft (276 m)[2]
Mouth	Missouri River
• location	Kansas City, Missouri, United States
• coordinates	39°07′44″N 094°28′07″W
• elevation	725 ft (221 m)[1]
Length	39 mi (63 km), Northeast[3]
Discharge
• location	mouth
• average	253.76 cu ft/s (7.186 m3/s) (estimate)[4]
Basin features
River system	Missouri River
Tributaries
• left	Brush Creek

Its major tributaries are Brush Creek, Tomahawk Creek, and Indian Creek.

Recreation

Along the Blue River can be found many miles of hiking, biking, and walking trails. Portions of these trails trace the path of a former steam railroad track of the Missouri Pacific Railroad line that ran from Dodson, Missouri south to Martin City, Missouri. This rail bed followed the Blue River and had many curves. The route was straightened in 1954 with the use of three high trestle bridges over the Blue River and one substantial cut. This improved line is now the Union Pacific - Kansas City Southern Mainline and generally parallels the Blue river into the bottoms railyard near Front Street in Kansas City.

History

On the high bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Blue River and the Missouri River can be found a large Native American mound structure, designated as Indian Mound Park in the Indian Mound neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri.

The three western trails, the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California trails crossed the river just north of Red Bridge Road and Minor Park. Mountain man Jim Bridger had a trading post at this location.

During the Civil War, the Blue River was the site of the Battle of Byram's Ford.

See also

• Blue River (disambiguation)
• List of Kansas rivers
• List of Missouri rivers

References

1. "Blue River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 1978-10-13. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
2. The National Map elevation query for coordinates given in cited GNIS record 479576, "The National Map, Advanced Viewer". Archived from the original on 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
3. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 31, 2011
4. United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Blue River". WATERS GeoViewer. Archived from the original on 2022-06-03. Retrieved 2022-06-03.