Arkansas River - Murray Lock and Dam

The Arkansas River is one of the Mississippi's largest tributaries. It flows 1,450 miles from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, through the Royal Gorge, on through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas to its confluence with the Mississippi River. Four hundred and forty-five miles long with 17 locks and dams, the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MCKARNS) is a reliable, year-round waterway into the Southwest. Essentially a series of navigation pools connected by locks, the waterway enables vessels to overcome a 420-foot difference in elevation from the Mississippi River to the head of navigation at Catoosa, Oklahoma. The waterway has five major publicly developed ports and numerous privately developed facilities.