Crow River (Minnesota)

A channelized section of the South Fork of the Crow River near Cosmos in Meeker County

The Crow River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in south-central Minnesota in the United States. It drains a watershed of 2,756 square miles (7,140 km²).

Name

The Crow River was named by the Ojibwe Indians for the bird they called the "marauder of newly planted corn."

Hydrography

The Crow River flows for most of its length as three streams:

• The North Fork Crow River, 157.5 miles (253.4 km) long, flows from Grove Lake in eastern Pope County and follows a generally east-southeastward course through southwestern Stearns, northeastern Kandiyohi, northern Meeker and central Wright counties, through Rice Lake and Lake Koronis and past the towns of Regal, Paynesville and Kingston. A minor headwaters tributary of the North Fork is named the Skunk River.
• The Middle Fork Crow River, 45.1 miles (72.6 km) long, rises near Belgrade in southwestern Stearns County and flows into Kandiyohi County, initially southward through Mud Lake and Nest Lake and past the town of New London, then eastward through Green Lake and Calhoun Lake and into northern Meeker County, where it joins the North Fork.
• The South Fork Crow River, 116.0 miles (186.7 km) long, flows from Wagonga and Little Kandiyohi lakes in south-central Kandiyohi County and follows a generally eastward course through southwestern Meeker, northern McLeod, northwestern Carver and southeastern Wright counties, past the towns of Cosmos, Hutchinson, Lester Prairie, Mayer, Watertown and Delano. Portions of the South Fork's upper course have been heavily straightened and channelized.

The Crow as it flows through Hanover

The north and south forks converge at Rockford to form the Crow River, which flows for 24.8 miles (39.9 km) northeastward to the Mississippi River. The river's course is used to define the boundary between Wright and Hennepin counties.

The Crow flows past Greenfield, Hanover, St. Michael, Otsego and Dayton; it enters the Mississippi River from the south at the common boundary between Otsego and Dayton.

See also

• List of rivers of Minnesota

References

• Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
• Waters, Thomas F. (1977). The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-0960-8.

External links

• Minnnesota DNR - Crow River, North Fork
• Minnnesota DNR - Crow River, South Fork