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Flood-inundation maps of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers including the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, southeast Missouri, 2023

Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5092
South Central Ozark Council of Governments, Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission
By: , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20255092

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Abstract

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 131.8-mile reach of the Current River and a 44.6-mile reach of the Jacks Fork River, in southeast Missouri, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission and the South Central Ozark Council of Governments. The maps also encompass the 134 miles of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers within the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which is the first national park area to protect a river system. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Program website at https://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/, depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (hereafter referred to as “stages”) at eight reference USGS streamgages—five on the Current River (USGS station numbers 07064440, 07064533, 07066510, 07067000, and 07068000) and three on the Jacks Fork River (USGS station numbers 07065200, 07065495, and 07066000). Near-real-time stages at these streamgages may be obtained from the USGS National Water Information System at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN or the National Weather Service National Water Prediction Service at http://water.noaa.gov/, which also forecasts flood hydrographs at four of these sites (USGS station numbers 07067000, 07068000, 07065495, and 07066000).

Flood profiles were computed for seven of the eight map reaches by means of two-dimensional hydraulic models and the remaining reach by a one-dimensional hydraulic model. The models were calibrated by using stage-streamflow relations or streamflow measurements at the USGS streamgages and from high-flow stage measurements from water-level loggers distributed throughout the reaches.

The hydraulic models were used to compute water-surface profiles for flood stages at 1-foot intervals referenced to the streamgage datums. The profile stages ranged from the National Weather Service “action stage” or near bankfull, to a stage exceeding the highest recorded water level at each streamgage. The simulated water-surface profiles were then combined with a digital elevation model (derived from light detection and ranging data having a nonvegetated vertical accuracy of a maximum 10-centimeter root mean square error) to delineate the area flooded at each water level and the associated water depths.

The availability of these maps, along with information regarding current stage from the USGS streamgage and forecasted high-flow stages from the National Weather Service, will provide emergency management personnel, resource managers, and residents with information that is critical for flood-response activities such as evacuations and road closures, as well as for postflood recovery efforts.

Plain Language Summary

The U.S. Geological Survey created flood-inundation maps that make up a 131.8-mile reach of the Current River, a 44.6-mile reach of the Jacks Fork River, including 134 miles of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in southeast Missouri. The flood-inundation maps show estimates of the extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels at eight reference U.S. Geological Survey streamgages—five on the Current River (U.S. Geological Survey station numbers 07064440, 07064533, 07066510, 07067000, and 07068000) and three on the Jacks Fork River (U.S. Geological Survey station numbers 07065200, 07065495, and 07066000).

Suggested Citation

Heimann, D.C., High, J.L., Atkinson, A.A., and Rydlund, P.H., Jr., 2025, Flood-inundation maps of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers including the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, southeast Missouri, 2023: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2025–5092, 29 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20255092.

ISSN: 2328-0328 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract
  • Plain Language Summary
  • Introduction
  • Creation of the Flood-Inundation-Map Libraries
  • Summary
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Flood-Inundation Maps of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers including the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Southeast Missouri, 2023
Series title Scientific Investigations Report
Series number 2025-5092
DOI 10.3133/sir20255092
Publication Date September 23, 2025
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston VA
Contributing office(s) Central Midwest Water Science Center
Description Report: viii, 29 p.; Data Release; Dataset
Country United States
State Missouri
Other Geospatial Current River, Jacks Fork River, Ozark National Scenic Riverways
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Additional publication details