​KANSAS RIVER, a large river, formed by the union of the Smoky Hill Fork and Solomon river, 10 miles W. of Abilene, and so called from the tribe of Indians which once dwelt on its shores. It flows E., joins the Missouri river between Wyandotte and Johnson county, on the E. border of Kansas, and traverses a fertile plain interspersed with heavily wooded hills and bluffs. Its most important affluents are Grand Saline Fork, Big and Little Blue rivers, and Republican Fork.