List of longest streams of Minnesota
Out of the 6,564 streams that flow through the U.S. State of Minnesota, there are 113 streams that are at least 30 miles long. The second longest river in the United States, the Mississippi River, originates in Minnesota before flowing south to the Gulf of Mexico. The longest river entirely within the state of Minnesota is the Minnesota River. Other rivers over 200 miles long include the Red River of the North, Des Moines River, Cedar River, Wapsipinicon River, Little Sioux River, and Roseau River.[1][2]
| Longest streams of Minnesota | |
|---|---|
 Topographic map with lakes and streams in blue | |
 Map of Minnesota lakes and streams |
Minnesota drainage basins/watersheds[note 1]
Sections of several of the longest rivers define sections of the Minnesota border,[3] including the
- Red River of the North (North Dakota border), 550 mi (890 km) long
- Mississippi River (Wisconsin border), 2,320 mi (3,730 km) long
- St. Croix River (Wisconsin border), 169 mi (272 km) long
- St. Louis River (Wisconsin border), 192 mi (309 km) long
- Rainy River (Ontario, Canada border), 137 mi (220 km) loing
- Bois de Sioux River (South Dakota border), 41 mi (66 km) long
- Pigeon River (Ontario border), 31.2 mi (50.2 km) long
Streams
Minnesota contains triple drainage basins/watershed. The direction of flow of the Minnesota rivers are determined by these watersheds, which include:[1]
- Mississippi River drainage basin (1,151,000 sq mi (2,980,000 km2)) made up of the Upper Mississippi River watershed (above St. Paul)[note 2], Lower Mississippi River (Below St. Paul), Minnesota River drainage basin (17,000 sq mi (44,000 km2)), St. Croix River drainage basin (7,700 sq mi (20,000 km2)), Des Moines River drainage basin (14,802 sq mi (38,340 km2)), and Missouri River drainage basin (529,350 sq mi (1,371,000 km2)). Water flows southwards, eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico.
- Hudson Bay/Artic drainage basin (3,861,400 sq mi (10,001,000 km2)), which includes the Red River of the North drainage basin (111,004 sq mi (287,500 km2)) and Lake of the Woods drainage basin (13,805 sq mi (35,750 km2), 7,285 sq mi (18,870 km2) in Minnesota). Water flows northward to the Hudson Bay.
- Great Lakes Basin, which includes the Lake Superior drainage basin in Minnesota and Wisconsin (49,300 sq mi (128,000 km2)).[5] Water flows eastward through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
The table below lists the 113 streams flowing in Minnesota that have a total length of greater than or equal to 30 miles. The stream's tributary and watershed are given. The source or mouth of some streams are in other U.S. states or Canadian provinces. Other than border rivers, the only rivers that originate in other states are the Little Minnesota River (South Dakota), St. Croix River (Wisconsin), and Upper Tamarack River (Wisconsin). The 21 streams that are not entirely within the state are indicated by a 
. The coordinates and location county of the mouth and source of the stream are indicated, as well as the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reference Geographic Names Information System ID.[note 3] A link to an Open Street Map template is listed at right that will generate a map showing the source and mouth coordinates of all of these streams. For consistency and accuracy, the sources for this information is primarily data from the USGS GeoNames database, supplemented by other sources as referenced.
Gallery
Images of selected Minnesota rivers
Source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca
Confluence of the Mississippi River and Minnesota River near Fort Snelling State Park
Mississippi River at St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis
Mendota Heights Bridge over the Minnesota River
Red River of the North as viewed from Fargo, North Dakota
St. Croix River viewed downstream from Stillwater, Minnesota
Bois de Sioux River below Lake Traverse dam. Roberts County, South Dakota is at left, and Traverse County, Minnesota is at right.
Pigeon River High Falls at Grand Portage State Park
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Vermilion River in St. Louis County
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Embarrass River in Winter- Veremilion River at Vermilion River Gorge
See also
Notes
- In North America, the term watershed is commonly used to mean a drainage basin, though in other English-speaking countries, it is used only in its original sense, that of a drainage divide.
- The Mississippi River drainage basin from Lake Itasca to Hastings, Minnesota consist of 20,105 sq mi (52,070 km2)[4]
- The state is given for non-Minnesota counties
- The USGS National dataset lists the elevation of the Pigeon River as 614 ft (187 m)
- The USGS National dataset lists the elevation of the Brule River as 607 ft (185 m)
- Portions of the Brule (31.5 mi), Cloquet (29.9), Little Cannon (12.5 mi), Little Isabella (33.17), Nemadji (13.44 mi), Temperance (24.56 mi), and Vermillion (22.8) rivers, are Minnesota DNR designated trout streams.[12]
- The USGS National dataset lists the elevation of the Temperance River as 597 ft (182 m)
- The USGS National dataset lists the elevation of the St. Louis River as 597 ft (182 m)
- The St. Louis River forms the border between St. Louis County, Minnesota and Douglas County, Wisconsin before it discharges into Lake Superior.
- 32.8 miles of the Nemadji River flows through Minnesota.[15]
- The USGS National dataset lists the elevation Nemadji River as 597 ft (182 m)
- The Mississippi River flows for 680 mi (1,090 km) within Minnesota.[1]
- 129.2 miles of the St. Croix River flow either on the Minnesota border or within Minnesota.[15]
- According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 394 mi (634 km) of the Red River of the North are in the United States. This amounts to about 72 percent of the main-stem length.[16][15]
- The Red River of the North enters the United States in Pembina County, North Dakota.[16]
- The Rock River flows for 88.9 mi (143.1 km) within Minnesota.[15]
- The Des Moines River flows for 68 mi (109 km) within Minnesota.[17]
- The Cedar River flows for a little over 25 mi (40 km) within Minnesota.[18]
- The Upper Iowa River flows for 50.4 mi (81.1 km) in Minnesota.[15]
- The Clearwater River is a MN DNR designated trout stream.[23]
- The Pine River (Mississippi River tributary) should not be confused with the Pine River (Minnesota–Ontario) or Pine River (Saint Louis River tributary), both of which are less than 30 miles long.
- The Roseau River flows for 116.6 mi (187.6 km) in Minnesota[15]
References
- "Lakes, rivers & wetlands". MN Facts. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 2003. Retrieved September 16, 2006.
- "The longest rivers in Minnesota". World Atlas. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
- Kaul, Greta (March 8, 2019). "Minnesota eastern border: a river runs through it except this one part". Minnesota Post.
- "Our Mississippi River" (PDF). Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- "Great Lakes Factos". EPA. Archived from the original on 2010-10-29. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- The mouth coordinates, mouth elevation, and source coordinates are from the Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey) listing for each river except for the source coordinates of the rivers originated in Canada, which are from the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base.
- Derived from Google Maps search using Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) source coordinates.
- Waters, Thomas F. (1977). Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816609608.
- "Minnesota stream search". USGS GNIS Database.
- "Great Lakes Water Levels" (PDF). United States Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013. The link also has daily elevations for the current month.
- "Minnesota Rivers". National Park Service. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- "Trout Opportunities in Minnesota". MN DNR. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- "Little Isabella River Campground". fs.usda.gov. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- "Little Isabella River". MN DNR. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- "Longest Rivers in Minnesota". Minnesota Fun Facts. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- "Red River of the North: A Water Trail Guide" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
- "Des Moines River State Water Trail Map" (PDF). MN DNR. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- "Cedar River State Water Trail Map" (PDF). MN DNR. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- "Root River State Water Trail Map" (PDF). MN DNR. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- "Cannon and Straight State Water Trail Map" (PDF). MN DNR. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- Waters, Thomas F. (1977). Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press. pp. 84–85. ISBN 0816609608.
- "Blue Earth State Water Trail Map" (PDF). MN DNR. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- "Clearwater River". MN DNR. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
- "Crow Wing River State Water Trail Map" (PDF). MN DNR. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- "Long Prairie State Water Trail Map" (PDF). MN DNR. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- "Big Fork River State Water Trail Map" (PDF). MN DNR. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- "Little Fork River State Water Trail Map" (PDF). MN DNR. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- Waters, Thomas F. (1977). Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press. p. 119. ISBN 0816609608.
- Waters, Thomas F. (1977). Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press. p. 107. ISBN 0816609608.
General references
- Mary E. Renwick; Susanna Eden. "Minnesota Rivers, a Primer" (PDF). Water Resources Center, University of Minnesota.
- "Current Conditions for Minnesota: Streamflow -- 149 site(s) found". USGS. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- Waters, Thomas F. (2010). The Rivers of Minnesota: Recreation and Conservation. Riparian Press. ISBN 978-0963761620.
- Waters, Thomas F. (1980). Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Univ Of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816609608.
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