Big Muddy River Wisconsinan-era lake. This is why the Big Muddy tends to be so muddy. The Big Muddy joins the Mississippi River in Jackson County near the La Rue-Pine Hills Ecological Area and less than south of Grand Tower Island. The Pine Hills are bluffs overlooking the Big Muddy as it flows through La Rue swamp. During the melting of the Wisconsinan glacier, the Mississippi River flood plain was filled with rushing meltwater in summer. During the winter the flow of meltwater was cut off, and the floodplain was a wide stretch of exposed mud. Winter winds created dust storms that covered
Muddy River (Nevada) the Meadow Valley Wash, forming the principal drainage system for southeastern Nevada. The Moapa Valley area is home to a wide variety of rare and endangered species, including fish, invertebrates, birds, and plants. Three endangered fish inhabit the area: the Moapa dace ("Moapa coriacea"), the Virgin River chub ("Gila seminuda"), and the White River springfish ("Crenichthys baileyi moapae"). These species can be found throughout the various springs, called the Muddy Springs, that feed the Muddy River. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has created the Moapa National Wildlife Refuge at the Warm Springs Natural Area, as part of the Desert