| Official Name: | Nishnabotna Township |
| Settlement Type: | Township |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Atchison |
| Area Total Km2: | 74.62 |
| Area Land Km2: | 73.09 |
| Area Water Km2: | 1.52 |
| Area Water Percent: | 2.05 |
| Population As Of: | 2010 |
| Population Total: | 155 |
| Population Density Km2: | 2.1 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 274 |
| Elevation Ft: | 899 |
| Coordinates: | 40.4919°N -95.6239°W |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 29-52598[2] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0766237 |
Nishnabotna Township is one of eleven townships in Atchison County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 155.[3]
Nishnabotna Township was organized in 1845, taking its name from the Nishnabotna River which flows through it.[4] Historically, Nishnabotna was thought to be a Native American name meaning "a river where boats were built".[5] However, more recent research indicates that the name, which was adopted from the Osage language, means "spouting wellspring."[6]
Nishnabotna Township covers an area of 74.6km2 and contains one incorporated settlement, Watson. It contains two cemeteries: Addington and Sonora. The Nishnabotna River enters the Missouri River in the northwest corner of the township. There is little physical relief, as the township lies almost entirely on the floodplains of the two rivers. The stream of High Creek runs through this township. Agriculture is the dominant land use.
Nishnabotna Township contains one airport, Garst Airport.
Nishnabotna Township is probably best known outside the immediate region for a reference by the New Yorker cartoonist George Booth, a native of Missouri. In a single-panel cartoon, one threadbare and addled character says to another as they cross a crowded street in New York City: "Mother always says that. Mother always says you have to be a little bit crazy to live in New York. Mother is a little bit crazy, but she doesn't live in New York. Mother lives in Nishnabotna, Missouri."