The Cimarron River ( ; or , meaning "Salt River";(2008) Kansas Historical Society, Ioway-Otoe-Missouria Language Project, English to Ioway-Otoe-Missouria Dictionary, "Dictionary X (English to Baxoje)", "Cimarron River". Link ) extends across New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas. The headwaters flow from Johnson Mesa west of Folsom in northeastern New Mexico. Much of the river's length lies in Oklahoma, where it either borders or passes through 11 counties. No major cities are along its route. The river enters the Oklahoma Panhandle near Kenton, crosses the corner of southeastern Colorado into Kansas, re-enters the Oklahoma Panhandle, re-enters Kansas, and finally returns to Oklahoma, where it joins the Arkansas River at Keystone Reservoir west of Tulsa, its only impoundment. The drainage basin encompasses about .Larry O'Dell, "Cimarron River," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed March 6, 2015.

Etymology The river's present name comes from the early Spanish name, , which is usually translated as River of the Wild Sheep; previous English names for the river include Grand Saline, Jefferson (in John Melish's 1820 U.S. map), Red Fork, and Salt Fork.

Description

In northeastern New Mexico and far western Oklahoma, the headwater area is known as the Dry Cimarron River because another Cimarron River (Canadian River tributary) that runs wholly in New Mexico has its headwaters nearby in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The name is related to the river not being completely dry, but sometimes its water entirely disappears under the sand in the riverbed. The Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway follows the river from Folsom to the Oklahoma border. The waterway becomes the Cimarron River at its confluence with Carrizozo Creek just inside the Oklahoma border, west of Kenton.

In Oklahoma, it is joined by North Carrizo Creek north-northeast of Kenton, Tesesquite Creek east of Kenton, and South Carrizo Creek further east. Tributaries include Cold Springs Creek, Ute Canyon Creek, and Flagg Springs Creek before crossing into Kansas. The river flows along the southern edges of Black Mesa, Oklahoma's highest point. As it first crosses the Kansas border, the river flows through the Cimarron National Grassland.

At Guthrie, the river is joined by Cottonwood Creek at a site known for frequent flooding."Floods in Guthrie, Oklahoma" US Army Corps of Engineers (1970) (Archived at LOC.gov, accessed Oct. 26, 2021)"Guthrie flooding keeps schools, roads closed" News9.com (May 22, 2019)"Recent flood ranks in top 10" GuthriesNewsPage.com (May 22, 2019) The Cimarron's water quality is rated as poor because the river flows through natural mineral deposits, salt plains, and saline springs, where it dissolves large amounts of minerals. It also collects quantities of red soil, which it carries to its terminus. Before the Keystone Dam was built, this silt was sufficient to discolor the Arkansas River downstream.

History

Early explorers The first Europeans to see the Cimarron River were apparently Spanish conquistadores led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1541. The Spanish seem to have done little to exploit the area. The Osage tribe claimed most of the territory west of the confluence of the Cimarron and the Arkansas. In 1819, Thomas Nuttall explored the lower Cimarron and wrote a report describing the flora and fauna that he found there.

In 1821, Mexico threw off Spanish rule, and William Becknell opened the Santa Fe Trail. One branch of the Santa Fe Trail, known variously as the Cimarron Route, the Cimarron Cutoff, and the Middle Crossing (of the Arkansas River), ran through the Cimarron Desert and then along the Cimarron River. Lower Cimarron Spring on the riverbank was an important watering and camping spot. In 1831, Comanches killed Jedediah Smith (a famous hunter, trapper, and explorer) on the Santa Fe Trail near the Cimarron River. His body was never recovered.

In 1834, General Henry Leavenworth established Camp Arbuckle (Fort Arbuckle) at the mouth of the river. Later known as Old Fort Arbuckle, it was active for about a year, and its former site is now submerged beneath the Arkansas River. It should not be confused with the later Fort Arbuckle in Garvin County, Oklahoma.

Historic sites along the river include the ruins of Camp Nichols, a stone fort Kit Carson built in 1865 to protect travelers from raids by Plains Indians on the Cimarron Cutoff. It was near present-day Wheeless, Oklahoma. The old Chisholm Trail crossed the river at Red Fork Station near present-day Dover, Oklahoma. In the 1890s, the Creek Nation Cave along the river near Ingalls was a hideout for the Doolin gang, which included the teenaged bandits Cattle Annie and Little Britches.

On September 18, 1906, a bridge across the Cimarron near Dover collapsed beneath a Rock Island train bound for Fort Worth, Texas, from Chicago. The bridge was a temporary structure unable to withstand the pressure of debris and high water. The railroad had delayed replacing it with a permanent structure for financial reasons. Several sources report that over 100 people were killed, but the figure is disputed. The true number may be as low as four.

See also List of rivers of Colorado List of rivers of Kansas List of rivers of New Mexico List of rivers of Oklahoma List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem) Folsom Falls Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge Point of Rocks (Kansas)

Notes

References

Further reading Anshutz, Carrie W. Schmoker; M.W. (Doc) Anshutz. Cimarron Chronicles: Saga of the Open Range. Meade, Kansas: Ohnick Enterprises, 2003. Dary, David. The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore. New York: Penguin, 2002 (Reissue). Hanners, Laverne; Ed Lord. The Lords of the Valley: Including the Complete Text of Our Unsheltered Lives. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. Hoig, Stan. Beyond the Frontier: Exploring the Indian Country. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998. Schumm, Stanley A. Channel Widening and Flood-Plain Construction along Cimarron River in Southwestern Kansas: Erosion and Sedimentation in a Semiarid Environment. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1963. ISBN B0007EFJLY Schumm, Stanley A. River Variability and Complexity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Stovall, John Willis. Geology of the Cimarron River Valley in Cimarron County, Oklahoma. Chicago, 1938. Woodhouse, S. W. (Eds. John S. Tomer, Michael J. Brodhead). A Naturalist in Indian Territory: The Journals of S.W. Woodhouse, 1849–50 (The American Exploration and Travel Series, Vol 72). Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996.

External links

Santa Fe Trail Research Site Mouth of the Cimarron TopoQuest. Headwaters of the Cimarron TopoQuest. Cimarron National Grassland USDA Forest Service. Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway New Mexico Historic Markers. Kansas connections (Eco-History Trails and Tales) Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Cimarron River Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory