Missouri, a state near the geographical center of the United States, has three distinct physiographic divisions:
The Ozarks is a physiographic region in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, United States.
The White River is a 722-mile (1,162 km) river that flows through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Missouri. Originating in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, it arcs northwards through southern Missouri before turning back into Arkansas, flowing southeast to its mouth at the Mississippi River.
A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh water, especially in arid regions which have relatively little annual rainfall.
The Spring River is a 57-mile (92 km) long river which flows through the U.S. states of Missouri and Arkansas. It consists of two branches, the South Fork of the Spring River and the Spring River proper. The South Fork of the Spring River starts in Howell County, Missouri and flows south through Fulton and Sharp counties in Arkansas. The South Fork of the Spring River joins the Spring River proper near the town of Hardy, Arkansas. The South Fork is a quiet stream with gravelly bars that are ideal for camping.
Mammoth Spring State Park is a 62.5-acre (25.3 ha) Arkansas state park in Fulton County, Arkansas in the United States. The park is located surrounding National Natural Landmark of the same name to provide recreation and interpretation for visitors. The park offers fishing, boating and hiking in addition to an Arkansas Welcome Center and restored 1886 St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (Frisco) depot operating as a railroad museum. The site became a state park in 1957, but the park continued to add area until 1975.
The Green River is a 384-mile-long (618 km) tributary of the Ohio River that rises in Lincoln County in south-central Kentucky. Tributaries of the Green River include the Barren River, the Nolin River, the Pond River and the Rough River. The river was named after Nathanael Greene, a general of the American Revolutionary War.
The Jefferson River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 83 miles (134 km) long, in the U.S. state of Montana. The Jefferson River and the Madison River form the official beginning of the Missouri at Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three Forks. It is joined 0.6 miles (1.0 km) downstream (northeast) by the Gallatin.
The Current River forms in the southeastern portion of the Ozarks of Missouri and becomes a 7th order stream as it flows southeasterly out of the Ozarks into northeastern Arkansas where it becomes a tributary of the Black River, which is a tributary of the White River, a tributary of the Mississippi River. The Current River is approximately 184 miles (296 km) long and drains about 2,641 square miles (6,840 km2) of land mostly in Missouri and a small portion of land in northeastern Arkansas. The headwaters of the Current River are nearly 900 feet (270 m) above sea level, while the mouth of the river lies around 280 feet (85 m) above sea level. The basin drains a rural area that is dominated by karst topography, underlain by dolomite and sandstone bedrock with a small area of igneous rock southeast of Eminence, Missouri. The annual daily mean discharge of the river near Doniphan, Missouri is 2,815 cubic feet (79.7 m3) per second. In 1964, over 134 mi (160 km) of the upper course of the river and its tributaries were federally protected as the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, the first national park in America to protect a river system.
The St. Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about 426 miles (686 km) long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along the western side of the Missouri Bootheel.
Maramec Spring is located on the Meramec River near St. James in the east-central Ozarks of Missouri. The fifth largest spring in the state with an average discharge of 153 cubic feet (4.3 m3) of water per second, it is part of a Karst topographical area, with many springs and caves. The spring and 1800 acres (7.28 km²) are owned by the James Foundation, which maintains the area as a public park, donated by Lucy Wortham James. The Missouri Department of Conservation operates a trout hatchery and fishery at the spring. Ruins of the Maramec Iron Works are still visible at the site; its machinery was partly powered by the spring's waterflow. The spring was declared a National Natural Landmark in October 1971.
Rockbridge is an unincorporated community in northern Ozark County, Missouri, United States. It is the site of an old mill on spring fed Spring Creek, a tributary of Bryant Creek, which still houses the post office. It lies twelve miles north of Gainesville on Missouri Route N, approximately one and one-half miles north of Route 95. The narrow valley floor is only about 650 feet (200 m) wide and at an elevation of 770 feet (230 m) and the Ozark ridges on either side are 200 to 250 feet higher.
The Spring River is a 129-mile-long (208 km) waterway located in southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma.
The Roaring River is a 14.9-mile-long (24.0 km) river in Barry County, Missouri, in the Ozarks. It is a tributary of the White River, into which it flows in Eagle Rock, Missouri. This section of the White River is a reservoir called Table Rock Lake.
Optima Lake was built to be a reservoir in Texas County, Oklahoma. The site is just north of Hardesty and east of Guymon in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
The Lost River is a river that rises in Vernon Township, Washington County, Indiana, and discharges into the East Fork of the White River in Lost River Township, Martin County, Indiana. The river's unusual hydrology has led to two of its features being named as National Natural Landmarks.
The geography of Arkansas varies widely. The state is covered by mountains, river valleys, forests, lakes, and bayous in addition to the cities of Arkansas. Hot Springs National Park features bubbling springs of hot water, formerly sought across the country for their healing properties. Crowley's Ridge is a geological anomaly rising above the surrounding lowlands of the Mississippi embayment.
Big Spring is one of the largest springs in the United States and the world. An enormous first magnitude spring, it rises at the base of a bluff on the west side of the Current River valley in the Missouri Ozarks.
Greer Spring is a first magnitude spring located in the southeast portion of the Ozark Plateau, in Oregon County in south-central Missouri within the boundaries of the Mark Twain National Forest. The spring is the second largest spring in the Ozarks, with an average discharge of 360 cubic feet (10 m3) of water per second. Greer Spring was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1980.
