| Crow River
Karishon
| |
|---|---|
| |
Map of the Crow River watershed.
| |
  Mouth of the Crow River | |
| Native name | Khaŋǧí Šúŋ Wakpa (Dakota) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Minnesota |
| County | Hennepin County, Wright County |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of North Fork Crow River and South Fork Crow River |
| • location | Rockford |
| • coordinates | 45°04′53″N 93°45′45″W / 45.0813519°N 93.7624663°W / 45.0813519; -93.7624663 |
| Mouth | Mississippi River |
• location | Dayton and Otsego |
• coordinates | 45°14′45″N 93°31′21″W / 45.2457984°N 93.5224579°W / 45.2457984; -93.5224579 |
| Discharge | |
| • location | mouth |
| • average | 1,166.56 cu ft/s (33.033 m3/s) (estimate)[1] |
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).[2]
The earliest record of the name for Crow River is "Karishon River", reflecting the Dakota language Khaŋǧí Šúŋ Watpá (now Wakpá), meaning "The Large Wing-feather of the Crow River". In other documents, this was translated as "Crow Wing River", or by its Ojibwe language name "Undeg-sipi" (from Aandego-ziibi), meaning "Crow River". Early explorers recorded the name of this river in various ways: "Goose River" by Jonathan Carver, "Rook's River" by Giacomo Beltrami, and as "Karishon or Crow River" by Joseph Nicollet.[3] The North Fork of the Crow River was named by the Ojibwe Indians for the bird they called the "marauder of newly planted corn."[4]
The Crow River flows for most of its length as three streams:
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.[5] The river's course is used to define the boundary between Wright and Hennepin counties.
The Crow flows through Greenfield, Hanover, St. Michael, Otsego and Dayton; it enters the Mississippi River from the south at the common boundary between Otsego and Dayton.
The Crow River, North Fork flows southeast from Lake Koronis for about 125 miles until it joins the Mississippi River at Dayton. The roughly 40 mile stretch from upstream of Rockford to the Mississippi is considered to be the best for canoeing. Upstream from Buffalo, you will encounter more challenging paddling due to sandy, erodible banks and fast-growing silver maples that frequently fall and block the river. In this stretch, you may see more wildlife, but you have to work harder to get around numerous obstacles.[8]
