Minnesota River
Catchment and tributaries of the Minnesota River
Mendota Bridge over the Minnesota River
The river southeast of Granite Falls, Minnesota
The Minnesota River is a 534 km long river in the northern United States and runs entirely within the State of Minnesota.
It is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It drains an area of almost 44,000 km ²; of which 38,205 km ² are in Minnesota and about 5180 Mkm ² in South Dakota and Iowa.
The source of the river is located in Western Minnesota Lake Big Stone Lake. The lake lies on the border between Minnesota and the state of South Dakota. From its source the Minnesota flows southeast. In Mankato it changes its direction to the northeast. It flows south of Saint Paul and Minneapolis at the historic Fort Snelling in the Mississippi River. The river valley is one of the differently shaped regions in Minnesota.
The river's name is derived from the Dakota language, " mini" means " water" and " sota " is either " white smoke " or translated " as the cloudy sky ." The Minnesota Territory and later the state was named after the river.
The valley surrounding the river is up to 8 km wide and cut in some places 80 m deep into the environment. The River Minnesota was formed during the last Ice Age in North America. The valley was built at the end of the last Ice Age in North America by the mighty glacial River Warren 11700-9400 years ago.
Economic Importance
The origin of the canning industry in the valley of the river. 1903 co-founded the business owner Carson Nesbit Cosgrove in Le Sueur Minnesota Valley Canning Company, which was later renamed Green Giant. Until 1930, the river valley had attained the rank of the major producing areas of sweet corn. Green Giant then had another five canneries in Minnesota. The company was then headed by Cosgrove's son and grandson, until it was decades later swallowed by General Mills.
Most important tributaries of the Minnesota River
- Blue Earth River
- Chippewa River
- Cottonwood River
- Lac qui Parle River
- Little Cottonwood River
- Little Minnesota River
- Pomme de Terre River
- Redwood River
- Rush River
- Whetstone River
- Yellow Bank River
- Yellow Medicine River
Cities along the Minnesota River
- Belle Plaine
- Bloomington
- Burnsville
- Carver
- Chanhassen
- Chaska
- Courtland
- Eagan
- Eden Prairie
- Granite Falls
- Henderson
- Kasota
- Le Sueur
- Mankato
- Mendota
- Montevideo
- Morton
- New Ulm
- North Mankato
- Odessa
- Ortonville
- St. Peter
- Savage
- Shakopee