Meramec River

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Meramec River
Meramec.png
Data
Water code US :  756378
location Missouri (USA)
River system Mississippi River
Drain over Mississippi River  → Gulf of Mexico
source in the Mark Twain National Forrest, northwest of Bunker
37 ° 30 ′ 45 ″  N , 91 ° 19 ′ 27 ″  W
muzzle at Arnold and Oakville in the Mississippi River Coordinates: 38 ° 23 '23 "  N , 90 ° 20' 39"  W 38 ° 23 '23 "  N , 90 ° 20' 39"  W.
Mouth height 113  m

length 350 km
Catchment area 10,300 km²
Left tributaries Bourbeuse River
Right tributaries Big River
Canoeists can be driven below Leasburg.

Canoeists can be driven below Leasburg .

The Meramec River in Route 66 State Park

The Meramec River in Route 66 State Park

The Meramec River is one of the longest unregulated watercourses in Missouri with a length of around 350 km .

It rises in the Mark Twain National Forest northwest of Bunker and flows through six counties of the Ozark Plateau : Dent , Phelps , Crawford , Franklin Counties , Jefferson and St. Louis Counties before emptying into the Mississippi River at Arnold and Oakville . The difference in altitude between the source and the mouth is 313 m. The catchment area of the Meramec River also extends to parts of eight other counties: Maries , Gasconade , Iron , Washington , Reynolds , St. Francois , Ste. Genevieve and Texas County. In total it covers around 10,300 km². The river is navigable by watercraft all year round from Maramec Spring, just south of St. James and the estuary. The size of the river increases at the confluence with the Dry Fork.

history

The first European on the river was the French Jesuit priest Jacques Gravier, who toured the area from 1699-1700. He described the meaning of the name in the Algonquin language as "river of ugly fish" or "ugly water". Early name variants were "Mearamigoua", "Maramig", "Mirameg", "Meramecsipy", "Merramec", "Merrimac", "Mearmeig" and "Maramecquisipi". The river became an important transport route for industrial raw materials and goods such as lead , iron and construction timber , which were shipped downstream with flat boats and steamers with only shallow drafts.

Today the river is used commercially by river cruise ships and barges to carry sand and gravel. It is also used by canoes and crossed by ferries . Numerous paths lead along the river and its cliffs and allow the hiker to see ducks, herons, beavers and other wild animals.

It was once one of the most polluted bodies of water in Missouri. Local and state authorities have taken extensive steps along the river to clean up the river. Today it is one of the most biodiverse waters in the state . To those found in the river fish species to include sunfish species belonging Pomoxis annularis ( "black crappie") and Pomoxis nigromaculatus ( "white crappie"), the catfish species Ictalurus punctatus and Pylodictis olivaris , largemouth bass , paddlefish , rainbow trout , trout , rock bass , smallmouth bass , Glass eye perch , and freshwater mussels are also abundant. The endangered species of salamander, mud devil ( Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis ) lives in the river.

Maramec Spring is the fifth largest spring in Missouri. There are some historic ironworks and trout fisheries in Maramec Spring Park south of St. James.

and display information about the image
The Meramec River flows through Castlewood State Park near St. Louis .

Meramec Basin Project

This map shows the dimensions of the planned reservoir.

The free flowing Meramec River narrowly escaped the construction of dams by the United States Army Corps of Engineers several times . The United States Congress approved several dam projects in the Upper Mississippi River basin and on the Meramec River in 1938 as a result of severe floods in 1927 and 1937. The Second World War interrupted these efforts. Plans were postponed and changed, but the Meramec Basin Project finally got rolling in the 1960s. The main dam was to be built at Sullivan , in Meramec State Park , and a few more dams were to be built further upstream. These plans met with resistance from the environmental protection movement , which became more and more important in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as from those seeking relaxation on the river. The collapse of the Teton Dam in 1976 led to an increase in public doubts about the meaning of the project.

Grassroots democratic opposition forced politicians who originally voted for the project to reposition their positions. At the request of Senators Jack Danforth and Thomas Eagleton , the governor of the state of Missouri, Kit Bond , allowed a non-binding referendum in twelve affected counties. On August 8, 1978, 64 percent of voters voted against the project. While the referendum had no legal significance, it did result in Congress re-debating the matter. Under President Jimmy Carter , funds for the project were cut and in 1981 his successor Ronald Reagan signed the law that stopped the project. It was the Army Corps of Engineers' first project to be discontinued after construction began, making it a major victory for the environmental movement in the United States.

Web links

Commons : Meramec River  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Meramec River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  2. ^ Conor Watkins: The Meramec Basin Project: A Look Back 25 Years Later. In: Ozark Mountain Experience. 2006, accessed October 14, 2018 (English, reproduced on RollaNet Grapevine).