Saint Louis River

Saint Louis River at Thomson, MN

Catchment area of ​​the Saint Louis River

The Saint Louis River is a (not meander ) 309 km long river in the U.S. state of Minnesota.

It rises on the western edge of Lake County and empties into a freshwater estuary between the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior in Superior Bay of Lake Superior. The largest tributaries are Whiteface River and Cloquet River.

The top Quellast the Saint Louis River flows as North River in the Seven Beaver Lake. The first west then directed headwaters combines numerous swampy and marshy depressions, which are occupied by boreal forest. Thereafter, the flow gradually swings southwest and meanders through deciduous trees richer forests. From the town of Floodwood, the Saint Louis River turns east and flows through the city of Cloquet below a rocky narrow valley with numerous rapids and small waterfalls. The strong gradient is used here by five hydropower plants with reservoirs.

In the mid-20th century, the lower reaches of the Saint Louis River was by the discharged wastewater one of the most polluted rivers of Minnesota. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ) was aware of the problem was only in the 1970s. Through the construction of sewage treatment plants, the water quality in 1978 was improved slowly.

The Saint Louis River is the main source of the river St. Lawrence River.