Big Muddy River the sides of hills, exposing coal deposits. The first coal mine in Illinois is believed to have been opened in 1810 on the banks of the Big Muddy in Jackson County. The Big Muddy cuts through the Shawnee Hills south of Murphysboro near the confluence with its smaller tributary, Kinkaid Creek. From there, it runs southward roughly twenty miles and meets the Mississippi directly south of Grand Tower. Near its mouth, a small portion of the Big Muddy acts as the dividing line between Jackson and Union counties. Major tributaries of the Big Muddy include Beaucoup Creek, the Little Muddy
Big Muddy Creek (Missouri River tributary) Fort Peck Indian Reservation. It joins the Missouri west of Culbertson. It was explored in 1805 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, who called it Martha's River in their journals and noticed on their return voyage in 1806 that it had changed its mouth on the Missouri. Along with the Milk River and the Poplar River, it is one of three waterways in Canada that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Big Muddy Creek has also been known as: Big Muddy River, Little Yellow River, Martha River, Martha's River, Marthas River, Marthy's River and Park River. Big Muddy Creek (Missouri