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Map of the Osage River watershed

The Osage River is a tributary of the Missouri River, 360 mi (579 km) long, in central Missouri in the United States. The largest river entirely in Missouri, it drains a rural area of 15,300 sq mi (39,600 km²) on the north edge of the Ozark Mountains west to east across Missouri, with its watershed stretching into eastern Kansas. It is impounded in two major locations such that most of the river has been converted into a chain of two reservoirs, the Harry S. Truman Reservoir and the Lake of the Ozarks.

Description

The Osage is formed in southwestern Missouri, approximately 20 mi (30 km) northwest of Nevada on the Bates-Vernon county line, by the confluence of the Marais des Cygnes and Little Osage rivers (The Marais des Cygnes is sometimes counted as part of the river, placing its headwaters in eastern Kansas and bringing its total length to over 500 mi (800 km)). The combined stream flows east past the Schell-Osage Wildlife Area into St. Clair County, widening into a long meandering arm of the Harry S. Truman Reservoir, approximately 40 mi (60 km) long. The lake receives the South Grand River, formerly a tributary of the Osage, as a second arm of the reservoir from the northwest, as well as the Pomme de Terre River from the south. The two arms of the reservoir join near the Harry S. Truman Dam in central Benton County.

Downstream from the Truman Dam, the river becomes the serpentine Lake of the Ozarks, stretching eastward for nearly 92 mi (163 km) to Bagnell Dam in Camden County and southwestern Miller County, which was constructed in 1931 and collects the Niangua River. Downstream from the dam it flows freely to the northeast in broad oxbow meanders through forested bluffs, joining the Missouri approximately 15 mi (25 km) east and downstream of Jefferson City.

History

The river is named for the Osage Nation, the indigenous people in area at the time of the arrival of the first European settlers. It presented significant navigation difficulties for early settlers because of its fluctuating water levels, as well as the presence of shallow pools and sand bars caused by its tight meandering course through the hills.

The Missouri Legislature attempted as early as 1839 to deepen the channel of the river. Early attempts failed because of lack of funding for the immense task. Commercial navigation on the river in the 19th century was confined mostly to smaller craft that could navigate the tight bends and shoals of the river. Improvements in the channel by the last two decades of the century led to greater commercial traffic. The construction of the Bagnell Dam, primarily for hydroelectricity, commenced in 1922 and was completed after nine years, effectively ending commercial navigation on the river. The Truman Dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1954 and completed in 1979.

The two dams on the river currently provide power for the St. Louis metropolitan areas. The reservoirs are popular tourist destinations in the region.

See also

• List of Missouri rivers

External links

• Navigating the Osage River in Missouri: 1839-1926 *dead link*