The New International Encyclopædia/Washita

WASHITA, wŏsh′ĭ-tȧ, or OUACHITA. A river which rises in the highlands of western Arkansas and flows southeast and southward through that State and Louisiana, emptying into the Red River near the latter's confluence with the Mississippi (Map: Arkansas, C 4) . Its length is about 550 miles. In its lower course, where it is generally called the Black River, it is connected with the Mississippi by a large network of bayous, the most important of which is the Tensas. The river flows through a rich corn and cotton region, is navigable for large river steamers 300 miles to Camden, Ark., and for smaller steamers to Arkadelphia, 70 miles farther.