It rises in southwestern Minnesota, in Big Stone Lake on the Minnesota–South Dakota border just south of the Laurentian Divide at the Traverse Gap portage. It flows southeast to Mankato, then turns northeast. It joins the Mississippi at Mendota south of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, near the historic Fort Snelling. The valley is one of several distinct regions of Minnesota. The name Minnesota comes from the Dakota language phrase, "Mnisota Makoce" which is translated to "land where the waters reflect the sky", as a reference to the many lakes in Minnesota rather than the cloudiness of the actual river.[2] At times, the native variant form "Minisota River" is used.[3] For over a century prior to the organization of the Minnesota Territory in 1849, the name St. Pierre (St. Peter) had been generally applied to the river by French and English explorers and writers. Minnesota River is shown on the 1757 edition of Mitchell Map as "Ouadebameniſsouté [Watpá Mnísota] or R. St. Peter". On June 19, 1852, acting upon a request from the Minnesota territorial legislature, the United States Congress decreed the aboriginal name for the river, Minnesota, to be the river’s official name and ordered all agencies of the federal government to use that name when referencing it.[4][5]
Minnesota River, Mankato, Minnesota
The valley that the Minnesota River flows in is up to five miles (8 km) wide and 250 feet (80 m) deep.[6] It was carved into the landscape by the massive glacial River Warren between 11,700 and 9,400 years ago at the end of the last ice age in North America. Pierre-Charles Le Sueur was the first European known to have traveled along the river.[citation needed] The Minnesota Territory, and later the state, were named for the river.
The river valley is notable as the origin and center of the canning industry in Minnesota. In 1903 Carson Nesbit Cosgrove, an entrepreneur in Le Sueur, presided at the organizational meeting of the Minnesota Valley Canning Company (later renamed Green Giant).[7][8] By 1930, the Minnesota River valley had emerged as one of the country's largest producers of sweet corn. Green Giant had five canneries in Minnesota in addition to the original facility in Le Sueur. Cosgrove's son, Edward, and grandson, Robert also served as heads of the company over the ensuing decades before the company was acquired by General Mills.[9] Several docks for barges exist along the river. Farm grains, including corn, are transported to the ports of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and then shipped down the Mississippi River.
The Towboat J.L. Fleming brings empty grain barges into Port Cargill on the Minnesota River, a tributary of the Mississippi River.
Tributariesedit
The Minnesota River Valley and tributaries as seen from the air at Redwood Falls, Minnesota. The river occupies only a small portion of the wide valley carved by the Glacial River Warren.
^"Minnesota River". USGS. from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
^"Mnisota Makoce: A Dakota Place". Bdote Memory Map. from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
^"What the Chickadee Knows allows readers another way to read and see and hear landscapes and lives and waters and skies around the confluence of the Minisota and Michizibi Rivers." in Sixteen Poetry Recommendations for National Native American Heritage Month November 2, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, orionmagazine.org, November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2022
^. Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 31, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
^Mary Wheelhouse Berthel (June 1948). Horns of Thunder: The Life and Times of James M. Goodhue. Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 179–. ISBN978-0-87351-518-4.
^"Peas, corn and beyond: Minnesota's Green Giant company was a canned food pioneer". MinnPost. August 1, 2013. from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
^Minnesota: A State Guide. US History Publishers. 1938. pp. 388–. ISBN978-1-60354-022-3.
^. Mayohouse.org. Archived from the original on March 24, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
Sourcesedit
Sansome, Constance Jefferson (1983). Minnesota Underfoot: A Field Guide to the State's Outstanding Geologic Features. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press. ISBN0-89658-036-9.
Waters, Thomas F. (1977). The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN0-8166-0960-8.
Place Names: the Minnesota River
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minnesota River.
Drainage Area of the Minnesota River
History of the Minnesota River Valley
- pictures and more information
Minnesota River Basin Data Center - center at Minnesota State University, Mankato
minnesota, river, dakota, mnísota, wakpá, tributary, mississippi, river, approximately, miles, long, state, minnesota, drains, watershed, square, miles, minnesota, about, south, dakota, iowa, mendota, bridge, crossing, just, above, mouthmap, native, namewatpá,. The Minnesota River Dakota Mnisota Wakpa is a tributary of the Mississippi River approximately 332 miles 534 km long in the U S state of Minnesota It drains a watershed of 14 751 square miles 38 200 km2 in Minnesota and about 2 000 sq mi 5 200 km2 in South Dakota and Iowa Minnesota RiverThe Mendota Bridge crossing the Minnesota River just above its mouthMap of the Minnesota RiverNative nameWatpa Mnisota Dakota LocationCountryUnited StatesStateMinnesotaCitiesBloomington MN Eden Prairie MN Mankato MN Shakopee MN Burnsville MN Eagan MN Le Sueur MNPhysical characteristicsSourceBig Stone Lake locationBig Stone Lake Big Stone County MN elevation964 ft 294 m MouthMississippi River locationMendota in Dakota County Minnesota coordinates44 09 51 N 94 02 13 W 44 16417 N 94 03694 W 44 16417 94 03694 elevation690 ft 210 m Length370 mi 600 km Basin size17 000 sq mi 44 000 km2 Discharge locationFort Snelling State Park average8 356 cu ft 236 6 m3 per sec 1 It rises in southwestern Minnesota in Big Stone Lake on the Minnesota South Dakota border just south of the Laurentian Divide at the Traverse Gap portage It flows southeast to Mankato then turns northeast It joins the Mississippi at Mendota south of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul near the historic Fort Snelling The valley is one of several distinct regions of Minnesota The name Minnesota comes from the Dakota language phrase Mnisota Makoce which is translated to land where the waters reflect the sky as a reference to the many lakes in Minnesota rather than the cloudiness of the actual river 2 At times the native variant form Minisota River is used 3 For over a century prior to the organization of the Minnesota Territory in 1849 the name St Pierre St Peter had been generally applied to the river by French and English explorers and writers Minnesota River is shown on the 1757 edition of Mitchell Map as Ouadebameniſsoute Watpa Mnisota or R St Peter On June 19 1852 acting upon a request from the Minnesota territorial legislature the United States Congress decreed the aboriginal name for the river Minnesota to be the river s official name and ordered all agencies of the federal government to use that name when referencing it 4 5 Minnesota River Mankato MinnesotaThe valley that the Minnesota River flows in is up to five miles 8 km wide and 250 feet 80 m deep 6 It was carved into the landscape by the massive glacial River Warren between 11 700 and 9 400 years ago at the end of the last ice age in North America Pierre Charles Le Sueur was the first European known to have traveled along the river citation needed The Minnesota Territory and later the state were named for the river Contents 1 Commercial significance 2 Tributaries 3 Cities and towns 4 See also 5 Notes and references 6 Sources 7 External linksCommercial significance editThe river valley is notable as the origin and center of the canning industry in Minnesota In 1903 Carson Nesbit Cosgrove an entrepreneur in Le Sueur presided at the organizational meeting of the Minnesota Valley Canning Company later renamed Green Giant 7 8 By 1930 the Minnesota River valley had emerged as one of the country s largest producers of sweet corn Green Giant had five canneries in Minnesota in addition to the original facility in Le Sueur Cosgrove s son Edward and grandson Robert also served as heads of the company over the ensuing decades before the company was acquired by General Mills 9 Several docks for barges exist along the river Farm grains including corn are transported to the ports of Minneapolis and Saint Paul and then shipped down the Mississippi River nbsp The Towboat J L Fleming brings empty grain barges into Port Cargill on the Minnesota River a tributary of the Mississippi River Tributaries edit nbsp The Minnesota River Valley and tributaries as seen from the air at Redwood Falls Minnesota The river occupies only a small portion of the wide valley carved by the Glacial River Warren Principal tributaries of the Minnesota River Order of entry River Location of confluence11 Blue Earth River West side of Mankato6 Chippewa River Montevideo9 Cottonwood River Southeast of New Ulm13 Credit River Scott County just southeast of Minneapolis Saint Paul5 Lac qui Parle River Lac qui Parle State Park 10 mi 15 km northwest of Montevideo10 Little Cottonwood River Cambria Township 7 mi 11 km southeast of New Ulm1 Little Minnesota River Big Stone Lake in Browns Valley4 Pomme de Terre River Marsh Lake in southwestern Swift County 4 mi 6 km southwest of Appleton8 Redwood River Near Redwood Falls12 Rush River 2 9 mi north of Le Sueur2 Whetstone River Ortonville near the South Dakota state line3 Yellow Bank River Agassiz Township 3 mi 5 km southeast of Odessa7 Yellow Medicine River Upper Sioux Agency State Park in Sioux Agency TownshipCities and towns edit nbsp View of the Minnesota River from Memorial Park southeast of Granite Falls MN Belle Plaine Bloomington Burnsville Carver Chanhassen Chaska Courtland Eagan Eden Prairie Franklin Granite Falls Henderson Kasota Le Sueur Mankato Mendota Mendota Heights Montevideo Morton New Ulm North Mankato Odessa Ortonville St Paul St Peter Savage ShakopeeSee also editList of Minnesota rivers List of crossings of the Minnesota River Minnesota Valley disambiguation Notes and references edit Minnesota River USGS Archived from the original on September 22 2021 Retrieved June 21 2021 Mnisota Makoce A Dakota Place Bdote Memory Map Archived from the original on September 21 2017 Retrieved September 21 2017 What the Chickadee Knows allows readers another way to read and see and hear landscapes and lives and waters and skies around the confluence of the Minisota and Michizibi Rivers in Sixteen Poetry Recommendations for National Native American Heritage Month Archived November 2 2022 at the Wayback Machine orionmagazine org November 10 2021 Retrieved November 2 2022 Minnesota State Minnesota Historical Society Archived from the original on March 31 2015 Retrieved March 21 2010 Mary Wheelhouse Berthel June 1948 Horns of Thunder The Life and Times of James M Goodhue Minnesota Historical Society pp 179 ISBN 978 0 87351 518 4 Sansome Minnesota Underfoot pp 118 19 Peas corn and beyond Minnesota s Green Giant company was a canned food pioneer MinnPost August 1 2013 Archived from the original on October 7 2015 Retrieved October 6 2015 Minnesota A State Guide US History Publishers 1938 pp 388 ISBN 978 1 60354 022 3 The Cosgrove Years Mayohouse org Archived from the original on March 24 2007 Retrieved December 12 2007 Sources editSansome Constance Jefferson 1983 Minnesota Underfoot A Field Guide to the State s Outstanding Geologic Features Stillwater MN Voyageur Press ISBN 0 89658 036 9 Waters Thomas F 1977 The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota Minneapolis University of Minnesota Press ISBN 0 8166 0960 8 Place Names the Minnesota RiverExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minnesota River Drainage Area of the Minnesota River History of the Minnesota River Valley Minnesota River at Mankato pictures and more information Minnesota River Basin Data Center center at Minnesota State University Mankato nbsp Texts on Wikisource Minnesota River Collier s New Encyclopedia 1921 Minnesota a river which crosses the state of Minnesota The New Student s Reference Work 1914 Minnesota River New International Encyclopedia 1905 Minnesota or St Peter s a river of Minnesota The American Cyclopaedia 1879 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Minnesota River amp oldid 1205229154, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
