Everything about The Minnesota River totally explained
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 square miles (44,000 km²), 14,751 square miles (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 just south of the
Laurentian Divide at the
Traverse Gap portage. 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. The valley is one of several distinct
regions of Minnesota.
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 valley that the Minnesota River flows in is up to five miles (8 km) wide and 250 feet (80 m) deep. 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.
Commercial significance
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). By 1930, the Minnesota River valley had emerged as one of the country's largest producers of sweet corn. Green Giant would have 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 swallowed by
General Mills. Several docks for
barges exist along the river. Dried goods are transported to the ports of
Minneapolis and
Saint Paul, and then shipped down the
Mississippi River.
Tributaries
Cities and towns along the Minnesota River
Further Information
Get more info on 'Minnesota River'.
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