French Creek | |
---|---|
Location | |
States | South Dakota |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | confluence of North Fork French Creek and South Fork French Creek |
• location | Black Hills |
• coordinates | 43°46′51″N103°43′12″W / 43.780951°N 103.720116°W |
Mouth | Cheyenne River |
• location | Red Shirt, South Dakota |
• coordinates | 43°38′45″N102°55′20″W / 43.645777°N 102.922106°W Coordinates: 43°38′45″N102°55′20″W / 43.645777°N 102.922106°W |
Length | 62 mi (100 km) |
French Creek [1] is an intermittent stream located in the Black Hills region of western South Dakota, United States. It is a tributary of the Cheyenne River. French Creek flows year-round, but in drier periods it flows into an underground drainage near the eastern boundary of Custer State Park and never reaches the Cheyenne.
French Creek rises approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Custer, South Dakota and extends for a length of 62 miles (100 km). The river flows in a generally eastward direction through Custer State Park and empties into the Cheyenne River near Red Shirt west of Badlands National Park. Custer State Park has a trail in French Creek Natural Area [2] and a horse camp, both along the river. [3] Near the river's eastern terminus on the prairie, French Creek Camping Area is part of a National Forest. [4]
French Creek most likely was named for the ancestry of early trappers. [5] Gold was discovered in French Creek during an expedition led by George Armstrong Custer in 1874. This discovery triggered the Black Hills gold rush of the late 1870s.
Pennington County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 100,948, making it the second-most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Rapid City. The county was created in 1875, and was organized in 1877. It is named for John L. Pennington, fifth Governor of Dakota Territory, who held office in 1875 when the county was formed.
Custer County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 8,216. Its county seat is Custer. The county was created in 1875, and was organized in 1877.
Rapid City is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western South Dakota, on the Black Hills' eastern slope. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census.
The Tongue River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately 265 mi (426 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana. The Tongue rises in Wyoming in the Big Horn Mountains, flows through northern Wyoming and southeastern Montana and empties into the Yellowstone River at Miles City, Montana. Most of the course of the river is through the beautiful and varied landscapes of eastern Montana, including the Tongue River Canyon, the Tongue River breaks, the pine hills of southern Montana, and the buttes and grasslands that were formerly the home of vast migratory herds of American bison. The Tongue River watershed encompasses parts of the Cheyenne and Crow Reservations. The Headwaters lie on the Big Horn National Forest, and the watershed encompasses the Ashland Ranger District of the Custer National Forest.
The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 692 miles (1,114 km) long, in the western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, this river, via its tributaries, drains a wide area, stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of Yellowstone National Park, across the mountains and high plains of southern Montana and northern Wyoming.
The Salt River is a river in Gila and Maricopa counties in Arizona, United States, that is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about 200 miles (320 km) long. Its drainage basin is about 13,700 square miles (35,000 km2) large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the 195-mile (314 km) Verde River. The Salt's headwaters tributaries, the Black River and East Fork, increase the river's total length to about 300 miles (480 km). The name Salt River comes from the fact that the river flows over large salt deposits shortly after the merging of the White and Black Rivers.
The Belle Fourche River is a tributary of the Cheyenne River, approximately 290 miles (470 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is part of the Mississippi River watershed via the Cheyenne and Missouri rivers. In the latter part of the 19th century, the Belle Fourche River was known as the North Fork of the Cheyenne River. Belle Fourche is a name derived from French meaning "beautiful fork".
The Cheyenne River, also written Chyone, referring to the Cheyenne people who once lived there, is a tributary of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is approximately 295 miles (475 km) long and drains an area of 24,240 square miles (62,800 km2). About 60% of the drainage basin is in South Dakota and almost all of the remainder is in Wyoming.
Rapid Creek is a tributary of the Cheyenne River, approximately 86 mi (138 km) long, in South Dakota in the United States. The creek's name comes from the Sioux Indians of the area, for the many rapids in the stream.
The Bad River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 161 miles (259 km) long, in central South Dakota in the United States. The river is formed at Philip, South Dakota, by the confluence of its North and South forks. The North Fork Bad River rises in eastern Pennington County and flows 51 miles (82 km) east-southeast to Philip, while the South Fork Bad River rises at the confluence of Whitewater Creek and Big Buffalo Creek in Jackson County, within the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, and flows 36 miles (58 km) northeast to Philip. The main stem of the Bad River flows east-northeast from Philip, passing Midland and Capa. It joins the Missouri at Fort Pierre. The Bad drainage basin is about 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2) and is located south of the Cheyenne River in the Pierre Hills and Southern Plateaus.
The Verde River is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about 170 miles (270 km) long and carries a mean flow of 602 cubic feet per second (17.0 m3/s) at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona.
Custer National Forest is located primarily in the south central part of the U.S. state of Montana but also has separate sections in northwestern South Dakota. With a total area of 1,188,130 acres (4,808 km2), the forest comprises over 10 separate sections. While in the westernmost sections, Custer National Forest is a part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the easternmost sections are a combination of forest "islands" and grasslands. A portion of the forest is also part of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and constitutes over a third of the wilderness land. South of Red Lodge, Montana, the Beartooth Highway passes through the forest en route to Yellowstone National Park.
Black Hills National Forest is located in southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, United States. The forest has an area of over 1.25 million acres (5,066 km²) and is managed by the Forest Service. Forest headquarters are located in Custer, South Dakota. There are local ranger district offices in Custer, Rapid City, and Spearfish in South Dakota, and in Sundance, Wyoming.
South Dakota is a state located in the north-central United States. It is usually considered to be in the Midwestern region of the country. The state can generally be divided into three geographic regions: eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills. Eastern South Dakota is lower in elevation and higher in precipitation than the western part of the state, and the Black Hills are a low, isolated mountain group in the southwestern corner of the state. Smaller sub-regions in the state include the Coteau des Prairies, Coteau du Missouri, James River Valley, the Dissected Till Plains. Geologic formations in South Dakota range in age from two billion-year-old Precambrian granite in the Black Hills to glacial till deposited over the last few million years. South Dakota is the 17th-largest state in the country.
South Dakota Highway 40 (SD 40) is a state highway in southwest South Dakota, United States. The highway is just over 37 miles (60 km) long and runs from U.S. Route 16A (US 16A) in Keystone to Bureau of Indian Affairs Highway 41 in Red Shirt. The highway runs near Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, and its eastern terminus is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near the edge of Badlands National Park.
The Black Hills are a small and isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to 7,244 feet (2,208 m), is the range's highest summit. The Black Hills encompass the Black Hills National Forest. The name "Black Hills" is a translation of the Lakota Pahá Sápa. The hills are so called because of their dark appearance from a distance, as they are covered in evergreen trees.
Mule Creek Junction is an unpopulated locale in Niobrara County, Wyoming at the junction of US 18 and US 85.
The Black Kettle National Grassland, in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma and Hemphill County, Texas, contains 31,286 acres (12,661 ha) of which 30,710 acres (12,430 ha) are in Oklahoma.
Dewey is an unincorporated community near the southwest corner of Custer County, South Dakota, United States, less than one mile from the Wyoming border in a prairie region of the Black Hills. There are approximately five or six homes in town. Dewey has a volunteer fire department in the Edgemont city district.
Carlile Junction is the populated place in Wyoming where Wyoming Highway 24 has a terminus at US Route 14.
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