Country United States River mouth St. Francis River Source Scott County, Missouri | State Missouri Length 238 km Mouth St. Francis River | |
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Main source Scott County, Missouri
230 ft (70 m) | ||
The Little River is a tributary of the St. Francis River, about 148 miles (238 km) long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. Via the St. Francis, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.
The Little River's upper course in Missouri has been greatly altered by channelization practices. It originally collected the waters of the Castor and Whitewater rivers, but these streams' outlets have been diverted to the Mississippi River by the Headwater Diversion Channel and other drainage systems, and the Little River's course through the Missouri bootheel has been diverted to a canal, though traces of its original course still exist. In Arkansas the river passes through the Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge and joins the St. Francis River at Marked Tree.
Little River most likely derives its name via French La Petitie Riviere on account of its small size relative to other nearby rivers.