Big Blue River (Kansas)

Big Blue River
Great Blue Earth River
Big Blue River; Great Blue Earth River
	Big Blue River above Manhattan, Kansas
	Map of the Kansas River drainage basin showing the Big Blue and Little Blue rivers
Location
Country	United States
State	Nebraska, Kansas
Region	Great Plains
Cities	Manhattan, KS, Beatrice, NE, Crete, NE, Seward, NE
Physical characteristics
Source
- location	Near Aurora, NE, Great Plains, United States
- coordinates	40°57′00″N 098°04′31″W / 40.95000°N 98.07528°W
Mouth	Kansas River
- location	Near Manhattan, Great Plains, United States
- coordinates	39°11′17″N 096°31′40″W / 39.18806°N 96.52778°W
Length	359 mi (578 km), South
Discharge
- location	Manhattan, KS
- average	982 cu ft/s (27.8 m3/s)
- minimum	8 cu ft/s (0.23 m3/s)
- maximum	18,000 cu ft/s (510 m3/s)
Basin features
River system	Kansas River watershed
Tributaries
- left	Little Blue River, West Fork of the Little Blue River

The Big Blue River is the biggest tributary of the Kansas River. The river is about 359 miles (578 km) long.^[2] It goes from central Nebraska into Kansas, until its confluence with the Kansas River at Manhattan.

Its name was given from the Kansa tribe of Native Americans. They lived at its mouth from 1780 to 1830. They called it the Great Blue Earth River.

River course

The river goes through mostly agricultural land.^[4] Big towns on the river include: Manhattan, Kansas, Beatrice, Nebraska; Crete, Nebraska; and Seward, Nebraska.

Water rights

Nebraska and Kansas have an agreement on who gets to use the water. Nebraska has full use of the river's water. However, from May 1 to September 30, Nebraska must allow a certain amount to go into Kansas.^[5] There has been no shortage of water in the river.