Des Moines River
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The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately 525 mi (845 km) long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwest of the United States. The largest river flowing across the state of Iowa, it rises in southern Minnesota, and flows across the state of Iowa from northwest to southeast, passing from the glaciated plains into the unglaciated hills near the city of Des Moines, which takes its name from the river.
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Description
It rises in two forks. The West Fork (the main branch) rises out of Lake Shetek in Murray County in southwestern Minnesota. It flows SSE into Emmet County, Iowa, past Estherville. The East Fork rises out of Okamanpeedan Lake in northern Emmet County on the Iowa-Minnesota border and flows south, through Algona.
The two forks join in southern Humboldt County, approximately 5 mi (8 km) south of Humboldt at Frank Gotch State Park. The combined stream flows roughly southward through Fort Dodge. West of Boone it passes through the Ledges State Park. It flows through downtown Des Moines, then turns generally southeastward, flowing through Ottumwa, its head of navigation. It forms approximately 20 mi (32 km) of the border between Iowa and Missouri before joining the Mississippi from the northwest at Keokuk.
It receives the Boone River from the northeast approximately 20 mi (32 km) southwest of Fort Dodge. It receives the Raccoon River from the west in Des Moines. Above the city of Des Moines, it is impounded to create the Saylorville Lake reservoir. Above Ottumwa, it is impounded to create the Red Rock Lake reserovir.
History
The origin of the name of the river is obscure. It was given the name La Rivière des Moines, literally meaning "River of the Monks", by early French explorers. The name may have referred to early Trappist monks who built huts near the mouth of the river. It may also refer to moingona, a Native American word meaning "river of the mounds" in reference to the burial mounds that were located near the banks of the river.
During the mid-19th century, the river provided the main commercial transportation across Iowa until the building of the railroads in the 1860s.
Historic floods on the river and its tributary the Raccoon in the summer of 1993 forced the evacuation of much of the city of Des Moines and nearby communities.
See also
- List of Iowa rivers
- List of Minnesota rivers
- List of Missouri rivers
- Illinois Country
- French colonization of the Americas
External links
- Des Moines History (http://www.ci.des-moines.ia.us/departments/AC/Information/AChistoricalinfo.htm)
- DesMoinesRiver.org (http://www.desmoinesriver.org/)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Des Moines River Basin (http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/PublicAffairsOffice/iowawaterresources/desmoinesriverbasin.html)