Cooper River

Cooper River
Old WM-125 bridge near Richfield
Location
Country	Ibica
Physical characteristics
Source
- location	West Monroe, near Valley Mills
Mouth
- location	Gulf of Angola, in Freemont County, West Monroe
- elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	418 miles (673 km)
Basin size	15,589 sq mi (40,380 km2)
Discharge
- average	6,368 cu ft/s (180.3 m3/s)

The Cooper River is a 418-mile (673 km) river, the longest with a watershed entirely within the state of West Monroe. It rises in extreme northern West Monroe, a few miles south of the Petra state line, near Valley Mills.

Course

Stanford Atwater Bridge (tall structure in background) carrying Interstate 25 across the Cooper River in Katy

The Cooper flows south from Katy across a fertile floodplain and the pine forests of Northern West Monroe. The Cooper meets the Knox and Louis Bayous to form Lake Mynatt, which was formed by a dam in 1935, between Leesville and Louisville.

From Lake Mynatt, the Cooper takes a more southwestern course though Lee and Washington counties, before flowing through downtown Shelby, the river featuring a riverwalk in town. From Shelby to the mouth of the river, the Cooper is largely channelized as it enterers the suburbs of Willmington. In Freemont County, after flowing past Willmington Carter International Airport, the river largely forms the city limits between Bishop on the south bank, and Ferris and Willmington on the north bank. South of the Interstate 10 and Ibican Route 2 bridges, the river opens into a wider, dredged estuary hosting the Port of Willmington and Willmington Navy Yard. At its mouth on the Bay of Angola, West Monroe State Highway 1 also tunnels under the river.

Tributaries

• Knox Bayou
• Louis Bayou