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The Minnesota River is a tributary
Tributary

A tributary is a stream or river which flows into a Mainstem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body of water....
 of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Minnesota
Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
. It drains a watershed
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 of nearly 17,000 square miles (44,000 km˛), 14,751 square miles (38,205 km˛) in Minnesota and about 2,000 sq mi (5180 km˛) in South Dakota
South Dakota

South Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota people and Sioux Sioux Native Americans in the United States tribes....
 and Iowa
Iowa

The State of Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Missouri to the south....
.

It rises in southwestern Minnesota, in Big Stone Lake
Big Stone Lake

Big Stone Lake is a long, narrow freshwater lake and reservoir forming the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota. The lake covers 12,610 acres of surface area, stretching 26 miles from end to end and averaging around 1 mile wide, and at an elevation of 965 feet is the lowest point in South Dakota....
 on the Minnesota–South Dakota border just south of the Laurentian Divide
Laurentian Divide

The Laurentian Divide or Northern Divide is a continental divide dividing the direction of water flow in eastern and southern Canada and the northern Midwestern United States....
 at the Traverse Gap
Traverse Gap

The Traverse Gap is an ancient river channel occupied by Lake Traverse and Big Stone Lake and the valley connecting them at Browns Valley, Minnesota....
 portage. It flows southeast to Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota

Mankato is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota and Nicollet County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 32,427 at the United States Census, 2000....
, then turns northeast.






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The Minnesota River is a tributary
Tributary

A tributary is a stream or river which flows into a Mainstem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body of water....
 of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Minnesota
Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
. It drains a watershed
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 of nearly 17,000 square miles (44,000 km˛), 14,751 square miles (38,205 km˛) in Minnesota and about 2,000 sq mi (5180 km˛) in South Dakota
South Dakota

South Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota people and Sioux Sioux Native Americans in the United States tribes....
 and Iowa
Iowa

The State of Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Missouri to the south....
.

It rises in southwestern Minnesota, in Big Stone Lake
Big Stone Lake

Big Stone Lake is a long, narrow freshwater lake and reservoir forming the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota. The lake covers 12,610 acres of surface area, stretching 26 miles from end to end and averaging around 1 mile wide, and at an elevation of 965 feet is the lowest point in South Dakota....
 on the Minnesota–South Dakota border just south of the Laurentian Divide
Laurentian Divide

The Laurentian Divide or Northern Divide is a continental divide dividing the direction of water flow in eastern and southern Canada and the northern Midwestern United States....
 at the Traverse Gap
Traverse Gap

The Traverse Gap is an ancient river channel occupied by Lake Traverse and Big Stone Lake and the valley connecting them at Browns Valley, Minnesota....
 portage. It flows southeast to Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota

Mankato is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota and Nicollet County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 32,427 at the United States Census, 2000....
, then turns northeast. It joins the Mississippi south of the Twin Cities
Minneapolis-St. Paul

Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the most populous List of United States urban areas in the state of Minnesota, United States, and is composed of 186 cities and townships....
 of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Hennepin County, Minnesota. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, Minnesota, the state's Capital ....
 and St. Paul, near the historic Fort Snelling. The valley is one of several distinct regions of Minnesota. As shown on old maps of Fort Snelling, early explorers dubbed the waterway the St. Pierre or St. Peter's River. Pierre-Charles Le Sueur
Pierre-Charles Le Sueur

Pierre-Charles Le Sueur was a France fur trader and explorer in North America, recognized as the first known European to explore the Minnesota River valley....
 was the first Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
an to visit the river, but there is no consensus as to the origin of its original name.

Its name comes from the Lakota language
Lakota language

Lakota is one of the three languages of the Sioux, of the Siouan languages family. While generally taught and considered by speakers as a separate language, Lakota is mutually understandable with the other two languages, and is considered by most linguists one of the three major Variety of the Sioux language....
 mini meaning "water" and sota which is alternately translated "smoky-white" or "like the cloudy sky". Minnesota Territory
Minnesota Territory

Minnesota Territory was an organized territory of the United States from March 3 1849 to May 11 1858, when Minnesota was admitted as the List of U.S....
, and later the state, were named for the river.

The valley that the Minnesota River flows in is up to five miles (8 km) wide and 250 feet (80 m) deep. It was carved into the landscape by the massive glacial River Warren
Glacial River Warren

Glacial River Warren or River Warren was a prehistoric river that drained Lake Agassiz in central North America between 11,700 and 9,400 years ago....
 between 11,700 and 9,400 years ago at the end of the last ice age
Ice age

The general term "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers....
 in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
.

Commercial significance

The river valley is notable as the origin and center of the canning industry
Canning

File:Berthold Weiss Canned Foods.jpgFile:Canned food factory .jpgCanning is a method of food preservation in which the food is processed and sealed in an airtight container....
 in Minnesota. In 1903 Carson Nesbit Cosgrove, an entrepreneur in Le Sueur
Le Sueur, Minnesota

Le Sueur is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota and Sibley County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, between Mankato, Minnesota and the Minneapolis-St....
 presided at the organizational meeting of the Minnesota Valley Canning Company (later renamed Green Giant
Green Giant

Green Giant is a vegetable brand owned by General Mills. It is symbolized by two mascots, the Jolly Green Giant and his friend Little Green Sprout....
). By 1930, the Minnesota River valley had emerged as one of the country's largest producers of sweet corn. Green Giant had five canneries in Minnesota in addition to the original facility in Le Sueur. Cosgrove's son, Edward, and grandson, Robert also served as heads of the company over the ensuing decades before the company was swallowed by General Mills
General Mills

General Mills is a Fortune 500 corporation, mainly concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota....
. Several docks for barges exist along the river. Dried goods are transported to the ports of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and then shipped down the Mississippi River.

Tributaries

Principal tributaries of the Minnesota River
Order of entry River Location of confluence
11 Blue Earth River
Blue Earth River

The Blue Earth River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, 108 miles long, in southern Minnesota in the United States. Two of its headwaters tributaries, the Middle Branch Blue Earth River and the West Branch Blue Earth River, also flow for short distances in northern Iowa....
 		 West side of Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota

Mankato is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota and Nicollet County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 32,427 at the United States Census, 2000....
6 Chippewa River
Chippewa River (Minnesota)

The Chippewa River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, about 120 mi long, in western and southwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River....
 		 Montevideo
Montevideo, Minnesota

Montevideo is a city in Chippewa County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,346 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Chippewa County, Minnesota....
9 Cottonwood River
Cottonwood River (Minnesota)

The Cottonwood River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, 152 miles long, in southwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River, draining an area of in an agricultural region....
 		 Southeast of New Ulm
New Ulm, Minnesota

New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,594 at the United States Census, 2000. It is the county seat of Brown County, Minnesota....
13 Credit River
Credit River (Minnesota)

The Credit River is a small tributary of the Minnesota River, 22 miles long, in the southern Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota in the United States....
 		 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 2000, the population was 89,498....
, just southeast of Minneapolis-Saint Paul
5 Lac qui Parle River
Lac qui Parle River

The Lac qui Parle River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, 118 miles long, in southwestern Minnesota in the United States. A number of tributaries of the river, including its largest, the West Branch Lac qui Parle River, also flow in eastern South Dakota....
 		 Lac qui Parle State Park
Lac Qui Parle State Park

Lac qui Parle State Park is a Minnesota List of Minnesota state parks near Watson, Minnesota. Lac qui Parle is a French language translation of the native Sioux name, meaning "lake which speaks"....
, 10 mi (15 km) northwest of Montevideo
10 Little Cottonwood River
Little Cottonwood River

The Little Cottonwood River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, 83 miles long, in southwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 230 square miles in an agricultural region....
 		 Cambria Township
Cambria Township, Minnesota

Cambria Township is a township in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 271 as of the 2000 United States Census....
, 7 mi (11 km) southeast of New Ulm
1 Little Minnesota River
Little Minnesota River

The Little Minnesota River is a headwaters tributary of the Minnesota River in northeastern South Dakota and west-central Minnesota in the United States....
 		 Big Stone Lake
Big Stone Lake

Big Stone Lake is a long, narrow freshwater lake and reservoir forming the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota. The lake covers 12,610 acres of surface area, stretching 26 miles from end to end and averaging around 1 mile wide, and at an elevation of 965 feet is the lowest point in South Dakota....
 in Browns Valley
Browns Valley, Minnesota

Browns Valley is a city in Traverse County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States, adjacent to the South Dakota border. The population was 690 at the United States Census, 2000....
4 Pomme de Terre River
Pomme de Terre River (Minnesota)

The Pomme de Terre River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, 106 miles long, in western Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 875 square miles in an agricultural region....
 		 Marsh Lake in southwestern Swift County
Swift County, Minnesota

Swift County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2000, the population was 11,956. Its county seat is Benson, Minnesota....
, 4 mi (6 km) southwest of Appleton
Appleton, Minnesota

Appleton is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,871 at the 2000 census. The town is home to a medium-security prison, the Prairie Correctional Facility, which is wholly owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America....
8 Redwood River
Redwood River

The Redwood River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, 127 miles long, in southwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 705 square miles in an agricultural region....
 		 Near Redwood Falls
Redwood Falls, Minnesota

Redwood Falls is a city in Redwood County, Minnesota and Renville County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 5,459 at the United States Census, 2000....
12 Rush River
Rush River (Minnesota)

The Rush River, in the U.S. state of Minnesota, is entirely in Sibley County, Minnesota, although its drainage basin also includes parts of Nicollet County, Minnesota and McLeod County, Minnesota....
 		 2.9 mi north of Le Sueur
Le Sueur, Minnesota

Le Sueur is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota and Sibley County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, between Mankato, Minnesota and the Minneapolis-St....
2 Whetstone River
Whetstone River

The Whetstone River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, about 35 mi long, in northeastern South Dakota and a very small portion of western Minnesota in the United States....
 		 Ortonville
Ortonville, Minnesota

Ortonville is a city in Big Stone County, Minnesota and Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota at the southern tip of Big Stone Lake, along the border with South Dakota....
, near the South Dakota
South Dakota

South Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota people and Sioux Sioux Native Americans in the United States tribes....
 state line
3 Yellow Bank River
Yellow Bank River

The Yellow Bank River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, approximately nine miles long, in western Minnesota in the United States. It is formed by the confluence of two longer streams, the North Fork Yellow Bank River and the South Fork Yellow Bank River, which also flow in northeastern South Dakota....
 		 Agassiz Township
Agassiz Township, Minnesota

Agassiz Township is a township in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 104 at the 2000 census....
, 3 mi (5 km) southeast of Odessa
Odessa, Minnesota

Odessa is a city in Big Stone County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 113 at the 2000 census....
7 Yellow Medicine River
Yellow Medicine River

The Yellow Medicine River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, 107 miles long, in southwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 665 square miles in an agricultural region....
 		 Upper Sioux Agency State Park
Upper Sioux Agency State Park

Upper Sioux Agency State Park is a Minnesota List of Minnesota state parks on the Minnesota River, south of Granite Falls, Minnesota. It preserves the site of the historic Yellow Medicine Agency which was destroyed in the Dakota War of 1862....
 in Sioux Agency Township
Sioux Agency Township, Minnesota

Sioux Agency Township is a township in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 237 at the 2000 census....


Cities and towns

Mendotabridge8
  • Belle Plaine
    Belle Plaine, Minnesota

    Belle Plaine is a city in Scott County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,789 at the 2000 census....
  • Bloomington
    Bloomington, Minnesota

    Bloomington is the List of cities in Minnesota in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and the third core city of the Minneapolis-St....
  • Burnsville
    Burnsville, Minnesota

    Burnsville is a city 15 miles south of downtown Minneapolis in Dakota County, Minnesota in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River....
  • Carver
    Carver, Minnesota

    Carver is a city in Carver County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,266 at the 2000 census....
  • Chanhassen
    Chanhassen, Minnesota

    Chanhassen is a city in Carver County, Minnesota and Hennepin County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 20,321 at the United States Census, 2000, with a 2006 estimated population of 23,520....
  • Chaska
    Chaska, Minnesota

    Chaska is a city in Carver County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 17,449 as of the United States Census 2000. It is the county seat of Carver County, Minnesota....
  • Courtland
    Courtland, Minnesota

    Courtland is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 538 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Mankato, Minnesota–North Mankato, Minnesota Mankato-North Mankato metropolitan area....
  • Eagan
    Eagan, Minnesota

    Eagan is a city south of Saint Paul, Minnesota in Dakota County, Minnesota in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River....
  • Eden Prairie
    Eden Prairie, Minnesota

    Eden Prairie is an edge city 12 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota in Hennepin County and the List of cities in Minnesota in the U.S....
  • Granite Falls
    Granite Falls, Minnesota

    Granite Falls is a city in Chippewa County, Minnesota, Renville County, Minnesota, and Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota....
  • Henderson
    Henderson, Minnesota

    Henderson is a city in Sibley County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 910 at the 2000 census....
  • Kasota
    Kasota, Minnesota

    Kasota is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 680 at the 2000 census....
  • Le Sueur
    Le Sueur, Minnesota

    Le Sueur is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota and Sibley County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, between Mankato, Minnesota and the Minneapolis-St....
  • Mankato
    Mankato, Minnesota

    Mankato is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota and Nicollet County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 32,427 at the United States Census, 2000....
  • Mendota
    Mendota, Minnesota

    Mendota is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The name comes from the Dakota word for "where the waters meet." The population was 197 at the 2000 census....
  • Montevideo
    Montevideo, Minnesota

    Montevideo is a city in Chippewa County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,346 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Chippewa County, Minnesota....
  • Morton
    Morton, Minnesota

    Morton is a city in Renville County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 442 at the 2000 census....
  • New Ulm
    New Ulm, Minnesota

    New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,594 at the United States Census, 2000. It is the county seat of Brown County, Minnesota....
  • North Mankato
    North Mankato, Minnesota

    North Mankato is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota and Nicollet County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 11,798 at the United States Census, 2000....
  • Odessa
    Odessa, Minnesota

    Odessa is a city in Big Stone County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 113 at the 2000 census....
  • Ortonville
    Ortonville, Minnesota

    Ortonville is a city in Big Stone County, Minnesota and Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota at the southern tip of Big Stone Lake, along the border with South Dakota....
  • St. Peter
    St. Peter, Minnesota

    St. Peter is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,747 at the United States Census, 2000. It is the county seat of Nicollet County, Minnesota....
  • Savage
    Savage, Minnesota

    Savage is a suburban city 15 miles south-southwest of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota in Scott County, Minnesota in the U.S. state of Minnesota....
  • Shakopee
    Shakopee, Minnesota

    Shakopee is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota. Located on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States....


    • See also



    Sources


    • Waters, Thomas F. (1977). The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-0960-8.


    External links

    • - pictures and more information