Yellow Bank River

The Yellow Bank River within the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge (2007)

The river in the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge (2007)

The Yellow Bank River is a 14 km long tributary of the Minnesota River in western Minnesota in the United States. It is formed by the confluence of two larger bodies of water. Both the North Fork Yellow Bank River and the South Fork Yellow Bank River have their origin in northeastern South Dakota. About the Minnesota River to the Yellow River bank is part of the catchment area of the Mississippi River and drains an area of ​​about 1191 km ² in an agricultural region.

The river takes its name from the yellowish glacial fault in the cliffs along its course. The name was translated into William H. Keating's report on the expedition of Stephen Harriman Long in the region in 1823 from the Sioux language with " Spirit Mountain Creek ". On a map of Minnesota from 1860 the river was marked as " Yellow Earth River."

Geography

Both the northern and the southern arm of the river originate on the Coteau des Prairies, South Dakota, a moraine, through which the river basin of the Mississippi River from the Missouri Rivers is disconnected. Flow over moraines to Minnesota. The North Fork Yellow Bank River has its source at an altitude of 560 m in the Round Lake at South Shore in the northwest of the Codington County and flows eastwards for about 80 km away through the center of Grant County in the northwest of the Lac qui Parle counties in Minnesota. The South Fork Yellow Bank River rises in 564 meters above sea level in the northwest of Deuel Countysm about 10 km southwest of beach castle and flows in a generally north-east course about 90 km away through the south of Grant County and the west of the Lac qui Parle County, where it passes through the municipality Nassau. From the confluence of the two forks in the Yellow Bank Township of Yellow Bank River flows for the remainder of the short run north through the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge and flows 14 km in the Agassiz Township, about 5 km southeast of Odessa in the Minnesota River. Within the reserve, the river flows through a forest landscape that is formed by American elm, ash, ash maple and silver maple. Fishing is possible here.

Runoff

The United States Geological Survey operates a level in the Agassiz Township south of Odessa, 7.2 km upstream of the mouth of the river. In the long-term annual average 1940-2005 the outflow level of 2 m³ / s The highest value recorded on 9 April 1969, 197 m³ / s, in dry periods of several years, the lowest value was recorded as zero.