The source of the White River is in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, in the Ozark–St. Francis National Forest southeast of Fayetteville. The river flows northwards from its source in northwest Arkansas. It loops up through southwest Missouri into Table Rock Lake at Branson, Missouri. In Branson the river enters Lake Taneycomo, controlled by the Powersite Dam. The Powersite was the first dam on the White River. The flow continues downstream into Bull Shoals Lake. From there it travels back into Arkansas, and then heads generally southeast to where it flows into the Mississippi River. Despite being much shorter than the Arkansas River, it carries nearly as much water—normally more than , and occasionally more than during floods.