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Confluence of the Kaw and Missouri Rivers at Kaw Point Park in Kansas City, Kansas. From this point you can see a great downtown skyline of Kansas City, especially at either dawn or dusk.
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where a tributary joins a more major river. The confluence of the Kaw and Misouri Rivers is not as big as some others, but by definition is the same.
River
A large natural stream of water (larger than a creek). A river is a large natural waterway. It is a specific term in the vernacular for large streams; stream being the umbrella term used in the scientific community for all flowing natural waterways. In the vernacular, stream may be used to refer to smaller streams, as may creek, run, fork, etc.
A River starts at a point called its source, and enters a sea or lake at its mouth. Along its length it may be joined by smaller rivers called tributaries. A river and its tributaries are contained within a drainage basin called the watershed. The point at which two or more rivers join, is called the confluence.
Description of the Rivers:
The Kansas River (also known as the Kaw) is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwestern-most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwestern-most portion of the extensive Mississippi River drainage. Its name (and nickname) come from the Kanza (Kaw) people who once inhabited the area. The state of Kansas in turn drew its name from the river.
Beginning at the confluence of the Republican and Smoky Hill Rivers, just east of aptly-named Junction City (1,030 feet/310 metres), the Kansas River flows some 170 miles (270 km) generally eastward to join the Missouri River at Kaw Point in Kansas City. Dropping only 320 feet (98 m) on its journey seaward, the water in the Kansas River falls less than 2 feet per mile (38 cm/km). The Kansas River valley is only 138 miles (222 km) long; the surplus length of the river is due to meandering across the floodplain. The river's course roughly follows the maximum extent of the Kansan glaciation, and the river likely began as a path of glacial meltwater drainage.
The river valley averages 2.6 miles (4.2 km) in width, with the widest points being between Wamego and Rossville, where it is up to 4 miles (6.4 km) wide, then narrowing to 1 mile (1.6 km) or less in places below Eudora. Much of the river's watershed is dammed for flood control, but the Kansas River is generally free-flowing and has only minor obstructions, including diversion weirs and one low impact hydroelectric dam.
The Missouri River is the longest river in the United States of America and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. The Missouri likely originates at Brower's Spring at the upper reaches of the Jefferson River, before joining the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana. From this point, it flows through its valley south and east into the Mississippi north of St. Louis, Missouri. At 2,540 miles (4,090 km) in length, it drains about one-sixth of the continental United States. The Missouri in its original natural meandering state was the longest river in North America. Nearly 72 miles (116 km) of the river have been cut off in channeling,and so it is now comparable in length to the Mississippi River. The combination of the two longest rivers in North America forms the fourth longest river in the world.
It forms the entire boundary between Nebraska and Missouri and part of the boundary between Missouri and Kansas. At Kansas City, it turns generally eastward, flowing across Missouri where it joins the Mississippi just north of St. Louis. At its confluence, the Missouri nearly doubles the volume of the Mississippi, accounting for 45% of the flow at St. Louis in normal times and as much as 70% of the flow during some droughts. It is the second-largest tributary by volume of the Mississippi, trailing the Ohio.
Requirements for logging the cache:
1. In an e-mail to our profile (woodlandclan@hotmail.com), answer the following questions. DO NOT POST ANSWERS HERE, EVEN IF ENCRYPTED.
a. Provide the full names of the two gentlemen depicted in the metal artwork at this site.
b. What two states are visible from your vantage point at the confluence?
c. Provide the elevation that shows on your GPSr unit when standing at the point closest (for your physical comfort/safety) to the waters at the tip of the confluence area.
d. Estimate the difference in elevation (feet) between the spot where the metal artwork resides and the point at which river waters meet the shoreline.
2. While NOT required, we would greatly appreciate it if you would upload a photo of you and your GPSr on this website listing, since there is no physical logbook to sign.
The friends of Kaw Park do a great job of maintaining this park and made this what it is today.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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