James River (Dakotas)

James River
Jim River, Dakota River
Flowing through Jamestown, North Dakota
Name origin: French: Rivière aux Jacques
Country	United States
States	North Dakota, South Dakota
Cities	Jamestown, ND, Aberdeen, SD, Huron, SD, Mitchell, SD, Yankton, SD
Source	Unnamed pond
- location	Wells County, North Dakota
- elevation	1,871 ft (570 m)
- coordinates	47°28′53″N 99°51′32″W / 47.48139°N 99.85889°W / 47.48139; -99.85889
Mouth	Missouri River
- location	Yankton County, near Yankton, South Dakota
- elevation	1,152 ft (351 m)
- coordinates	42°52′17″N 97°17′26″W / 42.87139°N 97.29056°W / 42.87139; -97.29056Coordinates: 42°52′17″N 97°17′26″W / 42.87139°N 97.29056°W / 42.87139; -97.29056
Length	710 mi (1,143 km)
Basin	20,942 sq mi (54,240 km2)
Discharge	for Scotland, SD
- average	646 cu ft/s (18 m3/s)
- max	29,400 cu ft/s (833 m3/s)
- min	0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
The course and watershed of the James River.

The James River (also known as the Jim River or the Dakota River) is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 710 miles (1,140 km) long, draining an area of 20,653 square miles (53,490 km²) in the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. About 70 percent of the drainage area is in South Dakota. The river provides the main drainage of the flat lowland area of the Dakotas between the two plateau regions known as the Coteau du Missouri and the Coteau des Prairies. This narrow area was formed by the James lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last ice age, and as a consequence the watershed of the river is slender and it has few major tributaries for a river of its length.

The James drops approximately 5 inches (130 mm) per 1 mile (1.6 km), and this low gradient sometimes leads to reverse flow. Reverse flow occurs when high inflow from tributaries leads to James River water flowing upstream for several miles above the joining water. This happens most frequently north of Huron, South Dakota.

The river arises in Wells County, North Dakota, approximately 10 mi (16 km) northwest of Fessenden. It flows briefly east towards New Rockford, then generally SSE through eastern North Dakota, past Jamestown, where it is first impounded by a large reservoir (the Jamestown Dam), and then joined by the Pipestem River. It enters northeastern South Dakota in Brown County, where it is impounded to form two reservoirs northeast of Aberdeen.

At Columbia, it is joined by the Elm River. Flowing southward across eastern South Dakota, it passes Huron and Mitchell, where it is joined by the Firesteel Creek. South of Mitchell, it flows southeast and joins the Missouri just east of Yankton.