| Washita River Ouachita, False Washita | |
|---|---|
 Upper Washita River inHemphill County, Texas | |
 Map of the Washita River watershed | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Roberts County, Texas |
| • coordinates | 35°37′32″N100°35′46″W / 35.6256003°N 100.5962467°W /35.6256003; -100.5962467[1] |
| • elevation | 3,028 ft (923 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Lake Texoma |
• coordinates | 33°54′42″N96°34′41″W / 33.9117669°N 96.5780504°W /33.9117669; -96.5780504[1] |
• elevation | 617 ft (188 m) |
| Length | 295 mi (475 km) |
| Basin size | 7,870 sq mi (20,400 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Dickson |
| • average | 1,854 cu ft/s (52.5 m3/s)[2] |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Red River |
TheWashita River (/ˈwɑːʃɪtɑː/) is a river in the U.S. states ofTexas andOklahoma. The river is 295 miles (475 km) long and terminates at its confluence with theRed River, which is now part ofLake Texoma (33°55′N96°35′W / 33.917°N 96.583°W /33.917; -96.583) on the Texas–Oklahoma border.
The Washita River forms in easternRoberts County, Texas (35°38′N100°36′W / 35.633°N 100.600°W /35.633; -100.600), near the town ofMiami in theTexas Panhandle. The river crossesHemphill County, Texas and entersOklahoma inRoger Mills County. It cuts through theOklahoma counties ofRoger Mills,Custer,Washita,Caddo,Grady,Garvin,Murray,Carter, andJohnston before emptying intoLake Texoma, which is the modern border betweenBryan County andMarshall County.[3]
The river bisects the heart of theAnadarko Basin, the fifth-largestnatural gas formation area in the United States. When the river reaches theArbuckle Mountains, it drops 30 feet per mile (5.7 m/km) as it cuts through Big Canyon, a limestone gorge 300 feet (91 m) deep.
The Washita's river bed is made up of unstable mud and sand, and its banks are composed of steeply incised and erosive red earth. This makes it one of the most silt-laden streams in North America.[4]
Along its path, theFoss Dam impounds the Washita River inCuster County to create theFoss Reservoir. Several reservoirs in the Washita River valley hold the waters of small tributaries, includingFort Cobb Lake, Lake Chickasha, andArbuckle Reservoir.
French explorers encountered the Washita River in the early 18th century while traveling upstream on theRed River and thought it was the same stream described by friendlyChoctaw tribesmen as theOuachita River. They soon found that it appeared very different from descriptions of the Ouachita, and named it theFaux Ouachita (False Ouachita). The name was later referred to by English-speaking American settlers as False Washita. After theAmerican Civil War, Americans referred to the river as the Washita.[5]
In 1842,General and futurePresidentZachary Taylor establishedFort Washita near the lower end of the river to protect resettled citizens of theChoctaw andChickasaw nations, who had been removed from the Southeastern United States, from thePlains Indians inhabiting the area. The fort was about 19 miles (31 km) above the confluence of the Washita and Red rivers.[6]
During the laterIndian Wars, theBattle of Washita River (also known as the Washita River Massacre) occurred at dawn on November 27, 1868. Lt. Col.George Armstrong Custer’s7th U.S. Cavalry attackedBlack Kettle’sCheyenne village on the Washita River near present-dayCheyenne, Oklahoma, killing many inhabitants.
Capt. Wyllys Lyman's wagon train was besieged by Indians near the Washita in Hemphill County on September 9–14, 1874.[3]
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