St. Francis River

The Saint Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about 426 miles (686 km) long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along the western side of the Missouri Bootheel.

Description and course

The river rises in a region of granite mountains in Iron County, Missouri, and flows generally southwardly through the Ozarks and the St. Francois Mountains near Missouri's highest point Taum Sauk. It forms the Missouri-Arkansas border in the Bootheel and eventually exits the state at Missouri's lowest point in the "toe" at 241 feet (73 m) above sea level. It passes through Lake Wappapello, which is formed by a dam constructed in 1941. Below the dam the river meanders through cane forests and willow swamplands, transitioning from a clear stream into a slow and silt-laden muddy river as it enters the flat lands of the Mississippi embayment. In its lower course the river parallels Crowleys Ridge and is part of a navigation and flood-control project involving a network of diversion channels and ditches along it and the Castor and Little Rivers. Below the mouth of the Little River in Poinsett County, Arkansas, the St. Francis is navigable by barge. It joins the Mississippi River in Phillips County, Arkansas, about 7 miles (11 km) north of Helena.

Saint Francis River (Canada–United States)

The St. Francis River (French: Rivière Saint-François) is a river roughly 75 miles (120 km) long, which forms part of the Canada–United States border. The river rises (47°44′07″N 69°17′15″W / 47.7352°N 69.2874°W / 47.7352; -69.2874 (Rivière Saint-François source)) in a lake of the same name located 12 miles (20 km) east of the Rivière du Loup in Quebec. The portion that forms the boundary starts at the bottom of Lake Pohenegamook at the very northernmost point of New England between Estcourt Station, Maine, and Estcourt, Quebec. The river flows generally south-east to its mouth on the Saint John River at St. Francis, Maine/Saint-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick.

USS Bancroft (DD-256) became a Canadian ship as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement and was renamed after the St. Francis River to follow the Canadian tradition of naming destroyers after Canadian rivers while recognizing the shared national history of the ship.

See also

St. Francis River (Minnesota)

The Saint Francis River is a 79.0-mile-long (127.1 km) tributary of the Elk River in east-central Minnesota in the United States. Via the Elk River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area historically characterized by mixed hardwood and coniferous forests on flat to rolling till plains.

The St. Francis River rises in Alberta Township in northeastern Benton County, and flows generally southwardly through eastern Benton County, passing to the east of Foley and collecting a minor tributary known as the West Branch St. Francis River. The river turns eastward in northern Sherburne County, and flows south- and southwestwardly through the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge and Sand Dunes State Forest. It joins the Elk River in Big Lake Township in southern Sherburne County, approximately one mile (2 km) north of the city of Big Lake.Canoeing is possible on some stretches of the river during periods of high water.

History and preservation

St. Francis

St. Francis may refer to numerous Roman Catholic saints:

St. Francis or Saint Francis may also refer to:

Places

United States

St. Francis, Wisconsin

St. Francis is an American city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The population was 9,365 at the 2010 census.

History

The city took its name from St. Francis Seminary, founded by Archbishop John Henni, the first Archbishop of Milwaukee, who placed it under the patronage of Francis de Sales, the first Catholic bishop of Switzerland after the Swiss Reformation.

Geography

St. Francis is located at 42°58′11″N 87°52′36″W / 42.96972°N 87.87667°W / 42.96972; -87.87667 (42.969615, -87.876745).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.55 square miles (6.60 km²), all of it land. It is located directly south and east of the City of Milwaukee, directly west of Lake Michigan, and directly north of Cudahy, Wisconsin. Milwaukee's primary airport, General Mitchell International Airport, is bordered on one side by St. Francis.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,365 people, 4,494 households, and 2,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,672.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,418.0/km²). There were 4,828 housing units at an average density of 1,893.3 per square mile (731.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.8% White, 2.7% African American, 1.0% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 2.8% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.4% of the population.

University of St. Francis

The University of St. Francis is a Catholic, Franciscan university, serving more than 3,300 students at locations throughout the United States. USF's main campus is located at 500 Wilcox Street in Joliet, Illinois. It is located about 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Chicago in a residential neighborhood and serves 1,300 students.

Campus

The Main Campus of the University of St. Francis is in the Cathedral Areas Preservation District, amidst some of the city’s most elegant and historic homes, and within easy walking distance of the Cathedral of St. Raymond.

The campus is 35 miles southwest from Chicago. Downtown Joliet and its Metra station are just minutes away, along with the university’s City Center Campus, which houses the Arts and Design Department at the historic Rialto Square Theatre building.

Tower Hall, the main academic building built in 1922, is the iconic image of the university. At the front of Tower Hall is a statue of Mother Alfred Moes, founder of the Sisters of St. Francis. The statue welcomes guests to campus and reminds all of the sisters' many contributions to the Joliet community. Tower Hall's main entrance at Circle Drive is marked by a statue of St. Francis, the institution's patron saint. Just inside the Circle Drive entrance is the Welcome Center.