View source for Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri

==Geography==

Ste. Genevieve County is one of the river counties of southeast Missouri, somewhat resembling a crude, tilted square whose northeastern face is the Mississippi River (though it actually is more irregular in shape, due to a narrower northwestward extension from the Bloomsdale area). It is bordered on the northeast by the state of [[Illinois]], on the southeast by Perry County, on the west by [[St. Francois County, Missouri|St. Francois County]], and on the northwest by [[Jefferson County, Missouri|Jefferson County]].

The county has a total area of 506.77 square miles, including 499.15 of land and 7.62 of water.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20131021170230/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_29.txt</ref> Most of the county consists of uplands that are an extension of the St. Francois Mountains, part of the broader Ozark Plateau. In the north and south-central regions especially, these tend to be especially rugged, with high ridges separated by deep, narrow valleys or "hollows." The Greasy Hills in the southwest contain the highest elevations, with a peak of 1,245 feet above sea level. Along the Mississippi River, there is a flat floodplain, ranging in width from a few dozen yards to well over a mile in places, where the most fertile land is located. This is the lowest-lying section, with an elevation of around 370 feet.<ref>https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=22280</ref>

Apart from the Mississippi, the main bodies of water are several small streams that empty into the water, including Establishment Creek, Saline Creek, and River aux Vases, a few of which (principally in the central region near New Offenburg) have been dammed to create small lakes.

Several major highways pass through the county. The most important are Interstate 55, which crosses from northwest to southeast; and U.S. Route 61, which parallels it a short distance to the east and connects the towns of Bloomsdale, Ste. Genevieve, and St. Mary; and Missouri State Highway 32, which enters from the southwest and has its eastern terminus at Ste. Genevieve.