Des Moines River
Des Moines River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Lake Shetek |
• location | Murray County, Minnesota |
• coordinates | 44°05′02″N 95°41′17″W / 44.0839°N 95.6881°W |
• elevation | 1,483 ft (452 m) |
St. Francisville, MO | |
• average | 13,223 cu/ft. per sec.[1] |
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Des Moines River |
The Des Moines River (/dəˈmɔɪn/ ) is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately 525 miles (845 km) long from its farther headwaters.[2] The largest river flowing across the state of Iowa, it rises in southern Minnesota and flows across Iowa from northwest to southeast, passing from the glaciated plains into the unglaciated hills near the capital city of Des Moines, named after the river, in the center of the state. The river continues to flow in a southeastern direction away from Des Moines, later flowing directly into the Mississippi River.
The Des Moines River forms a short portion of Iowa's border with
Hydrography
The Des Moines River rises in two forks. The West Fork (the main branch) rises out of Lake Shetek in Murray County in southwestern Minnesota. It flows south-southeast 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
It receives the
History
The origin of the name Des Moines is obscure. Early
The 1718 Guillaume Delisle map (pictured) labels it as "le Moingona R."
During the mid-19th century, the river supported the main commercial transportation by water across Iowa. River traffic began to be superseded by the
Flooding
Catastrophic flooding occurred along the Des Moines River during the
The river has a history of seasonal flooding. For example, in May 1944 the Riverview Park had just opened for the season on May 19, 1944. At around dawn on May 23, the levee began to collapse. The river was too much to hold back. Quickly the breach in the levee grew to nearly 100 feet (30 m) wide, and the river water quickly enveloped all of the park and the surrounding area.[11]
The Great Flood of 1993 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. In another period of flooding, on June 13, 2008, officials issued a voluntary evacuation order for much of downtown and other areas bordering the Des Moines River. The river had reached flood stage in many locations, and Mayor Frank Cownie said the evacuations were an attempt "to err on the side of citizens and residents."
Cities and towns
- Algona, Iowa (East Fork)
- Armstrong, Iowa (East Fork)
- Bonaparte, Iowa
- Bradgate, Iowa (West Fork)
- Chillicothe, Iowa
- Currie, Minnesota
- Dakota City, Iowa (East Fork)
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Douds, Iowa
- Eddyville, Iowa
- Eldon, Iowa
- Emmetsburg, Iowa (West Fork)
- Estherville, Iowa (West Fork)
- Farmington, Iowa
- Fort Dodge, Iowa
- Fraser, Iowa
- Graettinger, Iowa (West Fork)
- Humboldt, Iowa (West Fork)
- Irvington, Iowa (East Fork)
- Jackson, Minnesota
- Johnston, Iowa
- Keokuk, Iowa
- Keosauqua, Iowa
- Leando, Iowa
- Lehigh, Iowa
- Livermore, Iowa (East Fork)
- Ottumwa, Iowa
- Petersburg, Minnesota (West Fork)
- Rutland, Iowa (West Fork)
- St. Joseph, Iowa (East Fork)
- Windom, Minnesota
Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Des Moines River has also been known as:
- La Riviere des Moins
- Le Moine River
- Monk River
- Nadouessioux River
- Outontantes River
- River Demoin
- River of the Maskoutens
- River of the Peouareas
See also
- List of Iowa rivers
- List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem)
- List of Minnesota rivers
- List of longest streams of Minnesota
- List of Missouri rivers
- Illinois Country
- French colonization of the Americas
References and notes
- ^ "USGS Surface Water data for Missouri: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics".
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 26, 2011
- ^ Lahontan, Louis Armand de Lom d'Arce (1703) Carte de la Riviere Longue: et de Quelques Autres, qui se Dechargent dans le Grand Fleuve de Mississippi. La Haye, Netherlands. On file, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington.
- ^ Isaac Galland, 1840, Galland's Iowa Emigrant: containing a map, and general descriptions of Iowa, pp. 6-7.
- ^ Nicollet, J. N. (1843). Hydrographical Basin of the Mississippi River (map). U. S. War Department.
- ^ Pratt, H.M. (1913). History of Fort Dodge and Webster County, Iowa. Chicago: Pioneer Press. p. 33.
- ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ The great flood (of 1851), http://lucascountyan.blogspot.com/2010/07/great-flood-of-1851.html
- ^ The Flood of 1851, The Palimpsest 1934 15(6) http://iagenweb.org/history/palimpsest/1934-Jun1.htm
- .
- ^ Riverview Park Flood Archived 2008-06-17 at the Wayback Machine