| White River | |
| Map: | White River SD map 1.jpg |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA South Dakota |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of the White River in South Dakota |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Nebraska, South Dakota |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Dawes, Oglala Lakota, Pennington, Jackson, Jones, Mellette, Tripp, Lyman |
| Length: | 580miles |
| Discharge1 Min: | 0cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 570cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Max: | 51900cuft/s |
| Source1: | Pine Ridge |
| Source1 Location: | near Harrison, Dawes County, Nebraska |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 42.6861°N -103.8372°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 4861feet[1] |
| Mouth: | Missouri River |
| Mouth Location: | near Chamberlain, Lyman County, South Dakota |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 43.7139°N -99.4669°W[2] |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1601feet |
| Basin Size: | 10200sqmi[3] |
| Tributaries Left: | Soldier Spring Creek, Tucker Creek, Buck Creek, Charcoal Creek, Soldier Creek, Little Cottonwood Creek, Big Cottonwood Creek, Lone Tree Creek, Bohemian Creek, Madden Creek, Alkali Creek, Slim Butte Creek, Blacktail Creek, Cedar Bluff Creek, Willow Creek, Mule Creek, West Horse Creek, East Horse Creek, Sand Creek, Fog Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Spring Creek, Wind Creek, Big Hollow Creek, Clifford Creek, Cain Creek, Sixteenmile Creek, Fifteenmile Creek, Cottonwood Creek, O'Donald Creek, Ash Creek, Horse Creek, Hay Creek, Johnny Creek, Spring Creek, Pitan Creek, Williams Creek, Sedlano Creek, Mission Creek, Mill Iron Creek, Davis Creek, Bad Creek, Red Butte Creek |
| Tributaries Right: | Hile Creek, Kyle Creek, Bull Creek, Spring Creek, Deep Creek, Deadmans Creek, Cherry Creek, Bozle Creek, White Clay Creek, Hooker Creek, Ash Creek, Indian Creek, Trunk Butte Creek, Dead Horse Creek, Grass Creek, Wounded Knee Creek, Porcupine Creek, Palmer Creek, Medicine Root Creek, Redwater Creek, Potato Creek, Lost Dog Creek, Eagle Nest Creek, Craven Creek, Long Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Pass Creek, Nancy Hanks Creek, Red Stone Creek, Deep Creek, Plum Creek, Black Pipe Creek, Runs Close Creek, Yukmi Creek, Cedar Creek, Roundup Creek, Butch Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Kaiser Creek, White Thunder Creek, Louis Creek, Oak Creek, Little Dog Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Dog Ear Creek, Thunder Creek, Black Dog Creek, Waver Tree Creek, Sand Creek |
The White River is a Missouri River tributary that flows 580miles[4] through the U.S. states of Nebraska and South Dakota. The name stems from the water's white-gray color, a function of eroded sand, clay, and volcanic ash carried by the river[5] from its source near the Badlands.[6] Draining a basin of about 10200mi2,[3] about of which is in South Dakota,[7] the stream flows through a region of sparsely populated hills, plateaus, and badlands.[8] The White River rises in northwestern Nebraska, in the Pine Ridge escarpment north of Harrison, at an elevation of 4861feet above sea level.[1] It flows southeast then northeast past Fort Robinson and north of Crawford. It crosses into southwestern South Dakota and flows north across the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, then northeast, receiving Wounded Knee Creek and flowing between units of Badlands National Park. It flows east-northeast and southeast at the northern edge of the reservation, forming the northern boundary of the reservation and the southern boundary of Buffalo Gap National Grassland. It receives the Little White River about south of Murdo, and flows east to join the Missouri in Lake Francis Case about southwest of Chamberlain.[9]
The river sometimes has no surface flow due to the dry climate surrounding its badlands and prairie basin, though thunderstorms can cause brief intense flow. The river near Chamberlain flows year-round. As of 2001, the White River had generally good-quality water.
As of November 2019, TC Energy was applying for permits in the state to tap the White River to use water for the construction of Phase 4 of the Keystone pipeline, including camp construction to house transient construction workers.[10]