Yellow Medicine River
The Yellow Medicine River in Minnesota Falls Township (2007)
Yellow Medicine River in the Woodlake Township (2007)
The Yellow Medicine River is a 173 km long tributary of the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota in the United States. About the Minnesota River, he is a part of the catchment area of the Mississippi River and drains an area of 1722 km ² in an agricultural region. The name is a translation of an expression from the Dakota language for the river, " pajutazee " by which the yellowish root of the Moon seed plants is meant to grow as climbing plants along the river.
The Yellow Medicine River arises from Lake Shaokatan in Shaokatan Township in western Lincoln County, about 10 km southwest of Ivanhoe, on the Coteau des Prairies, a morainic plateau through which the river basin of the Mississippi River and the Missouri Rivers are separated. It flows initially as a non-permanent watercourse northeastward after Ivanhoe, and then leaves the plateau in the northwest of Lincoln County, where it decreases within 8 km 75 m in height. He then turns east - northeastward on a generally treeless Grundmoränenebene through the north of Lyon County and the eastern part of the Yellow Medicine counties in Hanley Falls. It flows into the Minnesota River in the Upper Sioux Agency State Park in Sioux Agency Township, about 13 km south-east of Granite Falls after he lost on the last 15 km in the valley of the Minnesota River 30 m in height.
One of the longest tributaries of the Yellow Medicine Rivers include the 66- km-long North Branch Yellow Medicine River and the South Branch Yellow Medicine River, both of which run mostly on the Coteau. The North Branch flows northeastward through northern Lincoln County, runs shortly by the Yellow Medicine County and flows through Porter. The 99 km -long South Branch flows northeastward through the Lincoln County in the north-west of Lyon County, in Minneota. Other tributaries are of the 74 -km-long Spring Creek, the eastward flowing through the Yellow Medicine County and the 50 km long Mud Creek, which runs eastwards through the west of the Yellow Medicine County and the northwestern part of the Lyon County.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency sets statistically along the catchment area of the Yellow Medicine Rivers with that of the Hawk Creek on the opposite side of the Minnesota River and several smaller the nearby tributaries of the Minnesota River. According to their data, 81% of land area within this combined catchment areas are used for agriculture, mainly the cultivation of corn and soybeans.
Among the fish species in the Yellow Medicine River include catfish, carp, Northern Pike, Walleye and catfish.
Runoff
The United States Geological Survey operates a level near Granite Falls, about 10 km upstream of the estuary. The long-time average of the runoff 1931-2005 was 4 m³ / s The highest recorded value was measured on 10 April 1969, was 487 m³ / s The lowest value was null and has performed in dry periods of several years.