A good part of its course marks the borders between Lincoln and St. Charles counties before emptying into the Mississippi River north of St. Louis.

The stream continues to the southeast until reaching the Lincoln-St. Charles county line where it gains the major tributary of Big Creek.

The stream flows northeast passing south of Chain of Rocks and crosses under Missouri Route 79 southwest of Old Monroe.

When France acquired the territory west of the Mississippi River, Cuvier sent two of his students to America to get specimens of flora and fauna and to assess the climate and topography of the new acquisition.

When the young men reached the river in what is now the Lincoln County area, it was known to the local French as Rivière aux Boeufs because of the numerous bison roaming its banks.