92 KANSAS UNIVERSITY QUAKTERLY. 



then this stream bends abruptly to the southeast and flows through a 

 broad valley in Kansas till it meets the Smoky Hill at Junction City. 



About thirty miles below this point another large stream, the Blue 

 river, flows in from the north. This stream, besides running through 

 several counties in Kansas, drains quite a large area in Nebraska. 

 Farther east the basin of the Kaw river is narrower. It receives the 

 waters of several small streams, the largest of these being the Delaware 

 which flows in nearly opposite Lecompton, and the Wakarusa which 

 flows in at Eudora. This stream flows through a valley nearly paral- 

 lel to the Kaw, and is the largest that enters from the south. The 

 Stranger, flowing in at Linwood, is a stream of considerable import- 

 ance. It will be noticed that nearly all the waters flowing into the 

 Kaw are from the north. South of this stream the state is drained 

 through its western ])ortion by the Arkansas, and further east by 

 several streams flowing towards the southeast. 



Most of the analyses of the waters of the streams that go to make 

 up the Kaw were made in the winter of 1892-3, though the waters of 

 a few of the smaller tributary streams were analyzed the succeeding 

 winter. We have made a careful examination of the waters of the 

 following streams: Smoky Hill river, sample taken below Salina; 

 Saline river, sample taken above New Cambria; Solomon river, 

 sample taken above the city of Solomon: Republican river, sample 

 taken above Junction City; Blue river, sample taken above the city 

 of Manhattan; Kaw river, sample taken above the city of Topeka; 

 Delaware river, sample taken at Perryville; Kaw river, sample taken 

 above the city of Lawrence; Wakarusa river, sample taken south of 

 Lawrence; Stranger river, sample taken at Linwood. In addition to 

 the above a number of analyses of the Kaw river have been made at 

 interniediate points between Topcka and Lawrence, as will be noticed 

 below'. Besides this we have examined the waters of the Kaw at 

 Lawrence at several different seasons, and stages of the river. 



Since the water of the Kaw, as delivered at the cities near its 

 mouth, is composed of waters of such different character, as will be 

 inferred from the diverse areas which they drain, it is of interest to 

 know what is the character of the composite water and from what 

 particular region the various impurities are derived. Of course the 

 amount of water discharged by each of the tributaries must be taken 

 into consideration as far as possible, and that has been done by an 

 approximate determination of the flow at the winter stage when the 

 examinations were made. For these estimates, and many other data 

 in regard to the topography of the country, we are indebted to 

 Col. F. A. Dockray, C. E. He estimates that "about half of the 

 river at Lawrence (forty miles above the mouth of the stream) at the 



