Cottonwood River (Minnesota)
| Cottonwood River | |
| River | |
 The Cottonwood River in Flandrau State Park in 2007
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Minnesota |
| Source | Coteau des Prairies |
| - location | Rock Lake Township, Lyon County |
| - elevation | 1,653 ft (504 m) |
| - coordinates | 44°12′06″N 95°56′06″W / 44.20167°N 95.93500°W |
| Mouth | Minnesota River |
| - location | near New Ulm, Brown County |
| - elevation | 794 ft (242 m) |
| - coordinates | 44°17′05″N 94°24′55″W / 44.28472°N 94.41528°WCoordinates: 44°17′05″N 94°24′55″W / 44.28472°N 94.41528°W |
| Length | 152.4 mi (245 km) |
| Basin | 1,313 sq mi (3,401 km2) |
| Discharge | for near New Ulm |
| - average | 381 cu ft/s (11 m3/s) |
| - max | 28,700 cu ft/s (813 m3/s) |
| - min | 0.5 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
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The Cottonwood River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, 152 miles (245 km) long, in southwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 1,313 square miles (3,400 km2) in an agricultural region. The river's name is a translation of the Sioux name for the river, Waraju, for the cottonwood tree, which is common along prairie rivers. It has also been known historically as the Big Cottonwood River.
The Cottonwood River flows generally eastwardly throughout its course. It rises southwest of Balaton in Rock Lake Township in southern Lyon County, as an intermittent stream on the Coteau des Prairies, a morainic plateau dividing the Mississippi and Missouri River watersheds. The river flows off the Coteau in a wooded valley in southeastern Lyon County, dropping 200 feet (60 m) in five miles (3 km), and enters a region of till plains, flowing through southern Redwood County, the northeastern corner of Cottonwood County, and northern Brown County, past the communities of Sanborn and Springfield. It enters a wooded valley near its mouth, flowing through Flandrau State Park and entering the Minnesota River just southeast of New Ulm. The river was formerly dammed to form a lake in the state park, but the dam was not rebuilt after being washed out by floods in 1965 and 1969.
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