White River ( Arkansas -- Missouri ) - wikipedia White River ( Arkansas -- Missouri ) White River River White River, 2008 Country United States States Arkansas, Missouri Tributaries - left James River, North Fork River, Black River - right Buffalo River, Little Red River, Bayou des Arc Cities Newport, Batesville, Fayetteville Source Boston Mountains - location Ozark - St. Francis National Forest, Madison County, Arkansas - elevation 2,260 ft ( 689 m ) - coordinates 35 ° 50 ′ 20 '' N 93 ° 36 ′ 16 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 35.83889 ° N 93.60444 ° W ﻿ / 35.83889 ; - 93.60444 Mouth Mississippi River - location Desha County, Arkansas - elevation 188 ft ( 57 m ) - coordinates 33 ° 57 ′ 5 '' N 91 ° 4 ′ 53 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 33.95139 ° N 91.08139 ° W ﻿ / 33.95139 ; - 91.08139 Coordinates : 33 ° 57 ′ 5 '' N 91 ° 4 ′ 53 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 33.95139 ° N 91.08139 ° W ﻿ / 33.95139 ; - 91.08139 Length 722 mi ( 1,162 km ) Basin 27,765 sq mi ( 71,911 km ) Discharge for Devalls Bluff - average 26,180 cu ft / s ( 741 m / s ) - max 154,000 cu ft / s ( 4,361 m / s ) - min 3,230 cu ft / s ( 91 m / s ) Map of the White River watershed The White River is a 722 - mile ( 1,162 - km ) long river that flows through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Missouri. Originating in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, it flows northwards into southern Missouri, and then turns back into Arkansas, flowing southeast to its mouth at the Mississippi River. Contents 1 Course 2 River modifications 3 Tributaries 4 Angling 5 See also 6 References Course The source of the White River is in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, in the Ozark -- St. Francis National Forest southeast of Fayetteville. The river flows northwards from its source in northwest Arkansas, loops up through southwest Missouri through Branson, Missouri. In Branson the river forms Lake Taneycomo, where it is held back by the Powersite Dam. The Powersite was the first dam on the White River. The flow into this comes from Table Rock Lake, and down stream it flows into Bull Shoals Lake, from where it travels back into Arkansas, and then heads generally southeast to its mouth at the Mississippi River. On entering the Mississippi River Valley region near Batesville, Arkansas, the river becomes navigable to shallow - draft vessels, and its speed decreases considerably. The final 10 miles ( 16 km ) of the river serves as the last segment of the McClellan - Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System ; this part of the channel is deeper than the rest of the river. Despite being much shorter than the Arkansas River, it carries nearly as much water -- normally more than 20,000 cubic feet per second ( 570 m / s ), and occasionally more than 100,000 cubic feet per second ( 2,800 m / s ) during floods. White River near Flippin, AR River modifications Lake Taneycomo was created in 1913 when the Empire District Electric Company built a dam just south of Forsyth, Missouri. Beaver Lake, Bull Shoals Lake, and Table Rock Lake are man - made lakes or reservoirs created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the authority of the Flood Control Act of 1938. A total of eight dams impound the upper White River, six in Arkansas and two in Missouri. The White River National Wildlife Refuge lies along the lower part of the river. Tributaries The tributaries of the White River include Cache River, Bayou des Arc, Little Red River, Black River, North Fork River, Crooked Creek, Buffalo River, Kings River, James River, and Roaring River. Some cities that lie on the White River are Newport, Augusta, Calico Rock, and Batesville, all in Arkansas, as well as Branson and Hollister in Missouri. Angling Fishing for trout is popular in the upper portions of the river from the Beaver Lake tailwaters in northwestern Arkansas, through its course through southwest Missouri ( including all of Lake Taneycomo ), and back down through Arkansas to the Highway 58 bridge in Guion. The river has long been ranked one of the top trout fisheries in the country. Fishing is popular in these waters for a number of trout species including rainbow, brown, and cutthroat trout. A number of trout fishing resorts lie on the tailwaters of Bull Shoals Lake and the North Fork River. Fishing for white bass is also popular in these waters. See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to White River ( Arkansas ). Cotter Bridge Grand Prairie Area Demonstration Project List of Arkansas rivers List of longest rivers of the United States ( by main stem ) List of Missouri rivers Whitewater Development Corporation White River Monster References Jump up ^ Google Earth elevation for GNIS source coordinates. ^ Jump up to : U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : White River, USGS GNIS. Jump up ^ Google Earth elevation for GNIS mouth coordinates. Jump up ^ `` FDsys - Browse Federal Register ''. www.epa.gov. Jump up ^ http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-ar-05/WDR-AR-05-1.pdf USGS Water Data Reports for the United States, 2005. Jump up ^ `` Branson Lake Taneycomo ''. Retrieved 25 August 2014. Jump up ^ Pfister, Fred ( 2006 ). Insider 's Guide : Branson and the Ozark Mountains. ISBN 0 - 7627 - 4042 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Flood Control Act of 1938 '' ( PDF ). fws.gov. Jump up ^ http://www.agfc.com/resources/GuidebookDocs/troutcomplete.pdf Jump up ^ `` White River - Explore the Ozarks ''. whiteriver.net. Cushing, Charles Phelps ( August 1911 ). `` Floating Through The Ozarks ''. The Outing Magazine. LVIII ( 5 ) : 537 -- 547. Retrieved 2009 - 08 - 16. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_River_(Arkansas -- Missouri ) &oldid = 849596472 '' Categories : White River ( Arkansas -- Missouri ) Rivers of Arkansas Rivers of Missouri Tributaries of the Mississippi River Bodies of water of the Ozarks Ozark -- St. Francis National Forest U.S. Interior Highlands Rivers of Taney County, Missouri Rivers of Desha County, Arkansas Rivers of Arkansas County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Phillips County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Monroe County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Prairie County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Woodruff County, Arkansas Bodies of water of White County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Jackson County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Independence County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Stone County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Izard County, Arkansas Rivers of Baxter County, Arkansas Rivers of Marion County, Arkansas Rivers of Boone County, Arkansas Rivers of Benton County, Arkansas Rivers of Carroll County, Arkansas Rivers of Washington County, Arkansas Bodies of water of Madison County, Arkansas Rivers of Franklin County, Arkansas Tributaries of the White River ( Arkansas -- Missouri ) Hidden categories : Coordinates on Wikidata Geobox usage tracking for river type Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Български Чӑвашла Cebuano Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Hrvatski Italiano Lietuvių Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски اردو 中文 13 more Edit links This page was last edited on 10 July 2018, at 02 : 19 ( UTC ). 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Question: where does the white river in arkansas start
Answer: in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas