Rapid Creek (South Dakota)

Rapid Creek
The creek in Rapid City's Founders Park
Location of Rapid Creek mouth Rapid Creek (South Dakota) (the United States)
Location
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
County	Pennington
City	Rapid City
Physical characteristics
Source	confluence of North Fork and South Fork of Rapid Creek
• location	about 2 miles (3.2 km) east-southeast of Hausle Ranch, South Dakota
• coordinates	44°07′52″N 103°44′10″W
• elevation	5,364 ft (1,635 m)
Mouth	Cheyenne River
• location	about 8 miles southeast of Farmingdale, South Dakota
• coordinates	43°54′17″N 102°37′44″W
• elevation	2,441 ft (744 m)
Length	117.89 mi (189.73 km)
Basin size	715.18 square miles (1,852.3 km2)
Discharge
• location	Cheyenne River
• average	93.07 cu ft/s (2.635 m3/s) at mouth with Cheyenne River
Basin features
Progression	Cheyenne River → Missouri River → Mississippi River
River system	Cheyenne
Tributaries
• left	North Fork Rapid Creek, Irish Gulch, Moonshine Gulch, Silver Creek, Blind Gulch, Benner Gulch, Minnesota Gulch, Gimlet Creek, Fall Draw, Spurgeon Gulch, Post Draw, Goose Pasture Draw, Gorman Gulch, Sunnyside Gulch, Boarding House Gulch, Deer Creek, Irishman Gulch
• right	South Fork Rapid Creek, Smith Gulch, Poverty Gulch, Bearcat Gulch, Cluder Gulch, Castle Creek, Slate Creek, Stewart Gulch, Nugget Gulch, Empress Gulch, Magpie Gulch, Bear Gulch, Custer Gulch, McCurdy Gulch, Tamarack Gulch, Powerhouse Gulch, Prairie Creek, Victoria Creek, Dry Creek, Lindsey Draw,
Waterbodies	Pactula Reservoir, Canyon Lake

Rapid Creek is a tributary of the Cheyenne River, approximately 86 mi (138 km) long, in South Dakota in the United States. The creek's name comes from the Sioux Indians of the area, for the many rapids in the stream.

Course

It rises in southwestern South Dakota, in the Black Hills National Forest in the Black Hills in Pennington County. It flows east, is joined by Castle Creek, past Silver City and through the Pactola Reservoir. Emerging from the Black Hills, it flows through Rapid City, past Farmingdale, and joins the Cheyenne River approximately 13 mi (21 km) southwest of Wasta.

1972 flood

The Rapid Creek is most noted for the Black Hills flood of 1972, in which 238 people perished in Rapid City and in the Black Hills. Since the flood, a flood plain has been established throughout the city making development along the banks inconsiderable.

See also

• List of rivers of South Dakota

External links

• "Photos of the aftermath of the 1972 flood". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2012-09-23.