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Information About

Minnesota River




The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River , approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the state of Minnesota in the United States . It drains a Watershed of nearly 17,000 sq mi (44,000 km²) -- 14,751 sq mi (38,205 km²) in Minnesota and about 2,000 sq mi (5180 km²) in South Dakota and Iowa .

It rises in southwestern Minnesota, in Big Stone Lake on the Minnesota-South Dakota border. It flows southeast to Mankato , then turns northeast. It joins the Mississippi south of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul , near the historic Fort Snelling .

Its name comes from the Dakota language ''mini'' meaning "water" and ''sota'' which is alternately translated "smoky-white" or "like the cloudy sky". Minnesota Territory , and later the state, were named for the river.

The Minnesota River was formed after the last Ice Age in North America .


PRINCIPAL TRIBUTARIES OF THE MINNESOTA RIVER



CITIES AND TOWNS ALONG THE MINNESOTA RIVER



SEE ALSO



REFERENCES

  • Place Names: the Minnesota River

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