Tarkio River

The name "Tarkio" is from a Native American word meaning "place where walnuts grow".

[4][5] The river passes rural areas and figures most prominently in the drainage system nears its mouth in management of Big Lake, Missouri and the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, formerly known as Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge.

Several streams and ditches in the Missouri River bottoms near its mouth contain the Tarkio name.

The river has a mean annual discharge of 244 cubic feet per second at Fairfax.

On July 7, 2011 the river rose 8 feet (2.4 m) in six hours in one burst at Fairfax.