Fabius River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Fabius River (pronounced FAY-bee-us) is a tributary of the Mississippi River in northeastern Missouri in the United States. It is formed near its mouth by the confluence of three streams, the North Fabius River, the Middle Fabius River and the South Fabius River. The North Fabius River also flows through southeastern Iowa.

Each of the three rivers have been subjected to substantial straightening and channelization.

Contents 1 Course 1.1 North Fabius River 1.2 Middle Fabius River 1.3 South Fabius River 1.4 Lower river 1.5 Local Pronunciation 2 See also 3 Sources

[edit] Course

[edit] North Fabius River

The North Fabius River, about 130 mi (210 km) long, is the longest of the three forks and rises near Moulton in southwestern Appanoose County, Iowa. It flows generally southeastwardly through Davis County in Iowa and Schuyler, Scotland, Knox, Clark, Lewis and Marion Counties in Missouri, past the towns of Memphis and Monticello, both in Missouri. In its upper course it collects two short tributaries known as the North Fork North Fabius River and the South Fork North Fabius River.

[edit] Middle Fabius River

The Middle Fabius River, about 90 mi (145 km) long, is formed in Scotland County by the confluence of the North Fork Middle Fabius River and the South Fork Middle Fabius River, both of which rise in Schuyler County. It flows generally southeastwardly through Knox and Lewis Counties, and joins the North Fabius River in southeastern Lewis County.

[edit] South Fabius River

The South Fabius River, about 100 mi (160 km) long, is formed by in Knox County by the confluence of the North Fork South Fabius River and the South Fork South Fabius River. The North Fork rises in Schuyler County and flows through Adair County, and the South Fork rises in Adair County; both flow past the town of Edina. The South Fabius flows generally south-southeastwardly through Knox, Lewis, Shelby and Marion Counties, past the town of Newark. Near Newark it collects the Little Fabius River which rises near Hurdland and flows for its entire length in Knox County.

[edit] Lower river

The North and South Fabius Rivers join to form the Fabius River in northeastern Marion County. The natural confluence of the rivers is about 1 mi (2 km) upstream of the Fabius River's mouth at the Mississippi River, but the North Fabius River has been re-routed by channelization, and now joins the South Fabius River about 3 mi (5 km) upstream of the Mississippi. The Fabius flows into the Mississippi River about 3 mi (5 km) downstream of Quincy, Illinois.

[edit] Local Pronunciation

Local residents commonly use [FAB-ee] or [FAB-ee-us] as a preferred pronunciation for these rivers.

[edit] See also

• List of Iowa rivers
• List of Missouri rivers

[edit] Sources

• Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
• DeLorme (1998). Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-214-5.
• DeLorme (2002). Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-353-2.
• Geographic Names Information System entry