Chikaskia River at Tonkawa, Oklahoma.
The Chikaskia River, usually pronounced chi-KAS-kee-uh but often pronounced chi-KAS-kee, is a tributary of the Arkansas River system. Like many other Great Plains streams, the Chikaskia River in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma is a tributary of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River. The 159-mile-long Chikaskia River System drains 2,060 square miles of the Great Plains Region.
Part of the Mississippi River watershed, the Chikaskia River rises from springs and intermittent streams in the southwestern part of Pratt County, Kansas. Initially, it flows eastwardly into Kingman County, where it turns southeastward for the remainder of its course through Harper and Sumner Counties in Kansas, crossing the state’s southern boundary near the town of Hunnewell, flowing through Grant and Kay Counties in Oklahoma before emptying into the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River near the town of Tonkawa.
Approximately 1,666 square miles, or 81% of the drainage area, lies in Pratt, Barber, Kingman, Harper, and Sumner counties in Kansas, and 384 square miles, or 19%, in Kay and Grant Counties in Oklahoma.
It is about 145 miles long and is known for its large catfish.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated January 2026.
Also See:
Sources:
Academy of Science For 1963
Kansas Geological Survey
Wikipedia