French Creek (Cheyenne River)

French Creek[1] is an intermittent stream located in the Black Hills region of western South Dakota, USA. It is a tributary of the Cheyenne River.

It rises approximately 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Custer, South Dakota and extends for a length of 62 miles (100 km). It flows on a general eastward direction through Custer State Park and empties into the Cheyenne River near Red Shirt, South Dakota. It flows year around, but in dry periods of low water it flows into an under ground drainage near the eastern boundary of Custer State Park and never reaches the Cheyenne.

French Creek most likely was named for the ancestry of early trappers.[2] Gold was discovered in French Creek during an expedition led by George Armstrong Custer in 1874. This discovery triggered the Black Hills gold rush of the late 1870s.

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: French Creek (Cheyenne River)
  2. ↑ Federal Writers' Project (1940). South Dakota place-names, v.3. University of South Dakota. p. 32.

See also

Coordinates: 43°38′45″N 102°55′20″W / 43.64580°N 102.92210°W / 43.64580; -102.92210


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