The Kansas River, locally known as the Kaw, is the longest prairie-based river in the world, flowing 173 miles from Junction City to its confluence with the Missouri River in Kansas City. Formed at the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers, the Kaw receives additional flow from the Big Blue, Solomon, and Saline Rivers. Unlike mountain-fed rivers, the Kansas River's temperature and flows depend entirely on local climate and groundwater conditions. Historically, it was a wide, shallow, silty, slow-moving braided river, but human modifications have transformed it into a narrower, deeper, straighter waterway. The river and its watershed provide diverse fishing opportunities across a variety of habitats while serving multiple uses including drinking water for over half a million people, agricultural irrigation, power generation, wastewater management, and sand and gravel dredging.