Kansas River - Course

Course

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 148 miles (238 km) generally eastward to join the Missouri River at Kaw Point (730 feet / 220 metres) 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 115 miles (185 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.