Current River (Ozarks)


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 long and drains about of land mostly in Missouri and a small portion of land in northeastern Arkansas. The headwaters of the Current River are nearly above sea level, while the mouth of the river lies around 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 per second. In 1964, over 134 mi 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.

Recreational activities

Canoeing, fishing, horseback riding, and camping are very popular activities along the Current River. The river is fairly gentle and is considered to have mostly class 1 rapids and a couple rated class 2.
Some of the points of interest along the course of the river include Montauk State Park, Welch Spring and abandon hospital, Aker's Ferry, Cave Spring, Devil's Well, Deer Leap, Rock House Cave, Pulltite Spring, Round Spring, Jacks Fork, Blue Spring, Rocky Falls, and Big Spring.