Blue Earth River
2507863
199191936
2008-03-18T21:58:23Z
Malepheasant
345020
rv per cited source
<div style="float:right;width:325px;">
{{Geobox River
<!-- *** Name section *** -->
| name = Blue Earth River
| native_name =
| other_name =
| other_name1 =
<!-- *** Image *** --->
| image = Blue Earth River Rapidan.jpg
| image_size = 300
| image_caption = The Blue Earth River as viewed from Rapidan Dam in [[Blue Earth County, Minnesota|Blue Earth County]] in 2007
<!-- *** Country etc. *** -->
| country = United States
| state = Iowa
| state1 = Minnesota
| region =
| region1 =
| district =
| district1 =
| city =
| city1 =
<!-- *** Geography *** -->
| length_imperial = 108
| length_note = <ref name=EPAm>{{cite web |url= http://iaspub.epa.gov/waters/w305b_report_control.get_report?p_state=MN |title= National Assessment Database: Assessment Data for the State of Minnesota Year 2004. |pages= [http://iaspub.epa.gov/tmdl/w305b_report_V4.huc?p_huc=07020009&p_state=MN Blue Earth Watershed] |publisher= [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] |accessdate= 2007-06-09}}</ref>
| watershed_imperial = 3486
| watershed_note = <ref name=MPCA>{{cite web |url= http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/basins/mnriver/watersheds.html |title= Watersheds of the Minnesota River Basin. |pages= [http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/basins/mnriver/watershed-blueearth.pdf Minnesota River Basin: Blue Earth, Watonwan, and Le Sueur River Watersheds] |publisher= Minnesota Pollution Control Agency |date= 2005-12-01 |accessdate= 2007-06-09}}</ref>
| discharge_location = [[Rapidan Township, Minnesota]]
| discharge_imperial = 1076
| discharge_max_imperial = 43100
| discharge_min_imperial = 6.9
| discharge_note = <ref name=USGS>{{cite web |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-mn-05-1/ |pages = [http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-mn-05-1/05320000.2005.sw.pdf Blue Earth River near Rapidan, MN] |title=Water Resources Data in Minnesota, Water Year 2005 Annual Report. |first= G. B. |last=Mitton |coauthors=K. G. Guttormson, G. W. Stratton, E. S. Wakeman |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref>
| discharge1_location =
| discharge1_imperial =
<!-- *** Source *** -->
| source_name = <nowiki>Middle Branch Blue Earth River</nowiki>
| source_location = near [[Rake, Iowa|Rake]]
| source_district = [[Winnebago County, Iowa|Winnebago County]]
| source_region =
| source_state = Iowa
| source_lat_d = 43
| source_lat_m = 27
| source_lat_s = 30
| source_lat_NS = N
| source_long_d = 93
| source_long_m = 48
| source_long_s = 04
| source_long_EW = W
| source_coordinates_note = <ref name=GNISm>{{cite web |url={{Gnis3|459026}} |title=Geographic Names Information System entry for Middle Branch Blue Earth River (Feature ID #459026) |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref>
| source_elevation_imperial = 1207
| source_elevation_note = <ref name=GE>[[Google Earth]] elevation for [[GNIS]] coordinates. Retrieved on [[2007-06-09]].</ref>
| source_length_imperial = 17
| source_length_note = <ref name=EPAm/><ref name=EPAi>{{cite web |url= http://iaspub.epa.gov/waters/w305b_report_control.get_report?p_state=IA |title= National Assessment Database: Assessment Data for the State of Iowa Year 2004. |pages= [http://iaspub.epa.gov/tmdl/w305b_report_V4.huc?p_huc=07020009&p_state=IA Blue Earth Watershed] |publisher= [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] |accessdate= 2007-06-09}}</ref>
| source1_name = <nowiki>West Branch Blue Earth River</nowiki>
| source1_location = near [[Swea City, Iowa|Swea City]]
| source1_district = [[Kossuth County, Iowa|Kossuth County]]
| source1_region =
| source1_state = Iowa
| source1_lat_d = 43
| source1_lat_m = 24
| source1_lat_s = 13
| source1_lat_NS = N
| source1_long_d = 94
| source1_long_m = 17
| source1_long_s = 38
| source1_long_EW = W
| source1_coordinates_note = <ref>{{cite web |url={{Gnis3|653931}} |title=Geographic Names Information System entry for West Branch Blue Earth River (Feature ID #653931) |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref>
| source1_elevation_imperial = 1152
| source1_elevation_note = <ref name=GE/>
| source1_length_imperial = 15
| source1_length_note = <ref name=EPAm/><ref name=EPAi/>
| source_confluence_location = [[Elmore Township, Minnesota|Elmore Township]]
| source_confluence_district = [[Faribault County, Minnesota|Faribault County]]
| source_confluence_region =
| source_confluence_state = Minnesota
| source_confluence_lat_d = 43
| source_confluence_lat_m = 34
| source_confluence_lat_s = 20
| source_confluence_lat_NS = N
| source_confluence_long_d = 94
| source_confluence_long_m = 06
| source_confluence_long_s = 11
| source_confluence_long_EW = W
| source_confluence_coordinates_note = <ref name=GNIS>{{cite web |url={{Gnis3|640285}} |title=Geographic Names Information System entry for Blue Earth River (Feature ID #640285) |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref>
| source_confluence_elevation_imperial = 1076
| source_confluence_elevation_note = <ref name=GE/>
<!-- *** Mouth *** -->
| mouth_name = Minnesota River
| mouth_location = [[Mankato, Minnesota|Mankato]]
| mouth_district = [[Blue Earth County, Minnesota|Blue Earth County]]
| mouth_region =
| mouth_state = Minnesota
| mouth_lat_d = 44
| mouth_lat_m = 09
| mouth_lat_s = 51
| mouth_lat_NS = N
| mouth_long_d = 94
| mouth_long_m = 02
| mouth_long_s = 13
| mouth_long_EW = W
| mouth_coordinates_note = <ref name=GNIS/>
| mouth_elevation_imperial = 765
| mouth_elevation_note = <ref name=GE/>
<!-- *** Tributaries *** -->
| tributary_left = Watonwan River
| tributary_left1 =
| tributary_right = <nowiki>East Branch Blue Earth River</nowiki>
| tributary_right1 = Le Sueur River
<!-- *** Free fields *** -->
| free_name =
| free_value =
<!-- *** Map section *** -->
| map = Blueearthrivermap.png
| map_size =
| map_caption =
}}
[[Image:Blue_Earth_River.jpg|thumb|300px|The Blue Earth River in [[Vernon Center, Minnesota|Vernon Center]] in 1996]]
</div>
The '''Blue Earth River''' is a [[tributary]] of the [[Minnesota River]], 108 miles (174 km) long, in southern [[Minnesota]] in the [[United States]]. Two of its headwaters tributaries, the '''Middle Branch Blue Earth River''' and the '''West Branch Blue Earth River''', also flow for short distances in northern [[Iowa]]. By volume, it is the Minnesota River's largest tributary, accounting for 46% of the Minnesota's flow at the rivers' confluence in [[Mankato, Minnesota|Mankato]].<ref name=MPCA/> Via the Minnesota River, the Blue Earth River is part of the [[drainage basin|watershed]] of the [[Mississippi River]], draining an area of 3,486 square miles (9,029 km²) in an agricultural region. Ninety percent of the river's watershed is in Minnesota.<ref name=MPCA/>
==History==
The river was named for former deposits of bluish-green [[clay]], no longer visible, along the banks of the river. The stream was called ''Makato Osa Watapa'' by the Dakota Indians, meaning "the river where blue earth is gathered." <ref name = Upham>{{cite book| last =Upham| first =Warren| authorlink =Warren Upham| title =Minnesota Place Names, A Geographical Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition| publisher =Minnesota Historical Society| date =2001| location =Saint Paul, Minnesota| pages =pp. 65| isbn =0-87351-396-7}}</ref> The [[France|French]] explorer [[Pierre-Charles Le Sueur]] established [[Fort L’Huillier]] near the river's mouth in 1700 for the purpose of mining the clay, either in the mistaken belief that the clay contained [[copper]], or as a ruse to secure funding from his patrons for his [[fur trade|fur trading]] activities. The fort was abandoned the following year after an attack by the [[Fox (tribe)|Fox tribe]]. In the 19th century, the geographer [[Joseph Nicollet]] found cavities from which the clay had been dug by Native Americans in the region, who used it as [[body painting|body paint]]; he found no evidence of Le Sueur's mines, nor of the fort.<ref name=Waters>{{cite book| last= Waters |first= Thomas F. | title= The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota |year= 2006 |publisher= [[University of Minnesota Press]] |location=Minneapolis |isbn= 0-8166-0960-8 |pages= pp. 278-287 |chapter= The Blue Earth: Fool's Copper}}</ref>
==Geography==
The Blue Earth River is considered to begin at the confluence of its west and middle branches, approximately five miles (8 km) north of [[Elmore, Minnesota|Elmore]] in southwestern [[Faribault County, Minnesota]]. The Middle Branch, 17 miles (27 km) long and sometimes known as the main stem of the river,<ref name=GNISm/> rises in northwestern [[Winnebago County, Iowa]], approximately seven miles east of [[Rake, Iowa|Rake]], and flows westwardly into [[Kossuth County, Iowa]], then northwardly into Faribault County. The West Branch, 15 miles (24 km) long, rises near [[Swea City, Iowa|Swea City]] in northern Kossuth County and flows northeastwardly into Faribault County. Both headwaters tributaries have been [[river engineering|channelized]] for much of their courses. From their confluence the Blue Earth River flows northwardly in a winding course through eastern Faribault County into [[Blue Earth County, Minnesota|Blue Earth County]], past the cities of [[Blue Earth, Minnesota|Blue Earth]], [[Winnebago, Minnesota|Winnebago]], and [[Vernon Center, Minnesota|Vernon Center]], to [[Mankato, Minnesota|Mankato]], where it enters the Minnesota River from the south.<ref name=DeLorme>{{cite book| title= Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer |year=1994 |publisher= [[DeLorme]] |location=Yarmouth, Me. |isbn= 0-89933-222-6 |pages= pp. 21-23, 32}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title= Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer |year=1998 |publisher= [[DeLorme]] |location=Yarmouth, Me. |isbn= 0-89933-214-5 |pages= pp. 18-19}}</ref> Rapidan Dam, constructed for the purpose of [[hydroelectricity]] generation in 1910, impounds the river 12 miles (19 km) upstream from its mouth; its reservoir filled with silt and mud soon after the dam's completion. The hydroelectric facility was later decommissioned but reactivated in 1984.<ref name=USGS/><ref name=Waters/>
The Blue Earth River's largest tributaries are the [[Le Sueur River]], which it collects three miles (5 km) upstream of its mouth; and the [[Watonwan River]], which it collects 16 miles (26 km) upstream of its mouth. The two rivers drain 31% and 24% of the Blue Earth's watershed, respectively.<ref name=EPAm/><ref name=MPCA/> Tributaries of the river in its upper course include the East Branch Blue Earth River,<ref>{{cite web |url={{Gnis3|643049}} |title=Geographic Names Information System entry for East Branch Blue Earth River (Feature ID #643049) |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref> 56 miles (90 km) long, which rises in southwestern [[Freeborn County, Minnesota|Freeborn County]] and flows westwardly through Faribault County to the city of Blue Earth; and Elm Creek,<ref>{{cite web |url={{Gnis3|643295}} |title=Geographic Names Information System entry for Elm Creek (Feature ID #643295) |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref> 75 miles (121 km) long, which rises in northeastern [[Jackson County, Minnesota|Jackson County]] and flows eastwardly through [[Martin County, Minnesota|Martin County]] into northeastern Faribault County, where it joins the Blue Earth River near Winnebago.<ref name=EPAm/><ref name=DeLorme/>
The Blue Earth River flows in most of its course through [[till plain]]s and the plain of a former [[glacial lake]]. The lower (northern) part of the river's watershed was historically covered by the [[Big Woods]], a tract of [[hardwood]]s that has since been largely converted to agricultural use; segments of the woodland extended southward along the [[riparian zone|riparian]] corridors of the Blue Earth River and its tributaries.<ref name=MPCA/> In its lower course below Rapidan Dam, the river flows through a wooded gorge in the valley of the Minnesota River; this section is a popular [[canoeing]] route.<ref name=Waters/>
According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, approximately 84% of the Blue Earth River's watershed is used for agricultural cultivation, primarily that of [[maize|corn]] and [[soybean]]s. The river is one of the most [[water pollution|polluted]] in Minnesota, with elevated levels of [[sediment]], [[bacteria]], [[nitrate]]s, [[phosphorus]], [[mercury (element)|mercury]], [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCBs]], and [[pesticide]]s, contributed in part by [[surface runoff|runoff]] in the watershed. [[Fecal coliforms]], contributed by [[manure]] fertilizers, livestock waste, substandard [[septic tank]]s and outdated [[sewer]] systems, are often present in the river at levels considered by the state government to be unsafe for swimming.<ref>{{cite news |first= Mark |last= Steil |title= Blue Earth River heavily polluted |url= http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/06/09_steilm_blueearth/ |publisher= [[Minnesota Public Radio]] |date= 2005-06-09 |accessdate= 2007-06-09}}</ref>
==Flow rate==
<div style="float:right;width:220px;">
[[Image:Blue Earth Riv Rapidan.jpg|thumb|200px|The Blue Earth River near the USGS stream gauge in 2007]]
</div>
The [[United States Geological Survey]] operates a [[stream gauge]] on the Blue Earth River below Rapidan Dam in [[Rapidan Township, Minnesota|Rapidan Township]], downstream of the mouth of the Watonwan River and upstream of the mouth of the Le Sueur River, and 12 miles (19 km) upstream from the river's mouth. The annual mean flow of the river at the gauge between 1909 and 2005 was 1,076 [[cubic feet per second]] (30 [[cubic meters per second|m³/s]]). The highest recorded flow during the period was 43,100 ft³/s (1,220 m³/s) on [[April 9]], [[1965]]. The lowest recorded flow was 6.9 ft³/s (0.2 m³/s) on [[October 12]], [[1955]].<ref name=USGS/>
==See also==
*[[List of Minnesota rivers]]
*[[List of Iowa rivers]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Rivers of Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Minnesota]]
[[Category:Tributaries of the Minnesota River]]
[[Category:Blue Earth County, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Faribault County, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Kossuth County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Winnebago County, Iowa]]
[[de:Blue Earth River]]