Cedar River (Iowa River)
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The Cedar River is a river in Minnesota and Iowa which is named after the juniper (also called "red cedar") trees growing there. It is also sometimes called the Red Cedar River. The surrounding region is known officially as the Cedar River Valley, however it is more commonly referred to simply as the Cedar Valley.
The headwaters of the Cedar River are located in Dodge County, Minnesota, consisting of a west fork and middle fork approximately three miles northeast of the town of Blooming Prairie, and an east fork approximately one mile south of the town of Hayfield. It then flows into Mower County, Minnesota through the townships of Udolpho, Lansing, Austin, and Lyle. It then flows into Mitchell County, Iowa and the endpoint is located in Louisa County, Iowa at the town of Columbus Junction, where it joins with the Iowa River which then winds its way to the Mississippi River. The total length is approximately 300mi, or 483km. Palisades-Kepler State Park is located on the Cedar River near Cedar Rapids.
In 2008, flooding of the river caused the evacuation of much of Cedar Rapids and flooded 1300 blocks of the city. The towns of Waterloo and Cedar Falls avoided the scale of flooding Cedar Rapids endured through effective use of sandbag walls, holding out the river.[1]
Cedar County, Iowa is named for the river.
Major cities (with populations greater than 20,000) located along the Cedar River include Austin, Minnesota, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Waterloo, Iowa, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
[edit] References
- ^ "Mandatory evacuations in Cedar Rapids flood", http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-cedar-rapids-iowa-evacuation-flood-080612-ht,0,4587441.story, Chicago Tribune, June 12, 2008
