The Credit River is a small tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Minnesota River

Minnesota River

The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....

, 22 miles (35 km) long, in the southern Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, draining an area of 46 square miles (120 km²) in a suburban area. The stream flows for its entire length in eastern Scott County

Scott County, Minnesota

Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was organized in 1853 and named in honor of General Winfield Scott. As of 2010, the population was 129,928. Its county seat is Shakopee...

; its tributaries also drain a portion of western Dakota County

Dakota County, Minnesota

Dakota County is the third most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is bordered by the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers on the north, and the state of Wisconsin on the east. Dakota County comprises the southeast portion of seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul, the thirteenth...

.

The Credit River issues from a small lake in the city of Elko New Market

Elko New Market, Minnesota

Elko New Market is a city in Scott County in the U.S. state of Minnesota from a merger of bordering cities Elko and New Market in 2006. The population was 4,110 at the 2010 census....

 in southeastern Scott County, and flows generally northwardly through the townships of New Market

New Market Township, Minnesota

New Market Township is a township in Scott County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,057 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 33.8 square miles , of which, 33.8 square miles of it is land and...

 and Credit River

Credit River Township, Minnesota

Credit River Township is a township in Scott County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,895 at the 2000 census. The Credit River flows northwardly through the township.-Geography:...

 and the city of Savage

Savage, Minnesota

Savage is a suburban city south-southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Scott County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city is situated on the south bank of the Minnesota River in a region commonly referred to as South of the River, comprising the southern portion of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the...

. It flows into the Minnesota River from the south in Savage, approximately 14 miles (22 km) south-southwest of downtown Minneapolis.

, the government of Minnesota classes the Credit River's water quality as being impaired by turbidity

Turbidity

Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality....

.