Beaver River (Oklahoma)

The Beaver River is the historic name for an intermittent river in Oklahoma that drains most of the Oklahoma Panhandle. It is also known as the North Canadian River. Both names are in common use. By one convention the headwaters of the Beaver River are at the convergence of the Corrumpa, Rafael, and Cienequilla Creeks west of Grenville, New Mexico. By other conventions the name arbitrarily changes at the New Mexico/Oklahoma border, or further east; upstream, USGS topographic maps mark the stream "Corrumpa Creek", downstream the maps mark the stream either "Beaver River" or "North Canadian River". The Beaver River flows from Union County, New Mexico across the three Oklahoma Panhandle counties, Cimarron, Texas, and Beaver. At Ft. Supply in Harper County, Oklahoma, the Beaver comes to a confluence with Wolf Creek and becomes known as the North Canadian River.

The antecedent of the Beaver River, Corrumpa Creek, has a north fork and a south fork, both of which rise on the Sierra Grande volcano southwest of the town of Des Moines, New Mexico.

The Beaver River and its tributaries flow with water intermittently. A few short stretches, such as McNees Crossing (one mile east of NM hwy 406), have persistent flow. The remainder flows under the sand except after rain falls or snow melts. The area drained by the Beaver River in the high plains of northeastern New Mexico and the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles receives on average less than convert|8|in|mm of rain annually.