Wild Rice River (North Dakota)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wild Rice River | |
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 The Wild Rice River near Abercrombie in 2007
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| Country | United States |
| State | North Dakota |
| Length | 240 mi (386 km) approx.[1] |
| Watershed | 2,233 sq mi (5,783 km²) [2] |
| Discharge at | near Abercrombie |
| - average | 104 cu ft/s (3 m³/s) [3] |
| - maximum | 9,540 cu ft/s (270 m³/s) |
| - minimum | 0 cu ft/s (0 m³/s) |
| Discharge elsewhere | |
| - near Rutland | 8.36 cu ft/s (0 m³/s) [4] |
| Source | |
| - location | Brampton Township, Sargent County |
| - coordinates | [5] |
| - elevation | 1,283 ft (391 m) [6] |
| Mouth | Red River of the North |
| - location | near Frontier, Cass County |
| - coordinates | [5] |
| - elevation | 879 ft (268 m) [6] |
 The Red River drainage basin, with the Wild Rice Rivers of North Dakota and Minnesota highlighted
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The Wild Rice River is a tributary of the Red River of the North, approximately 240 miles (390 km) long, in southeastern North Dakota in the United States. Via the Red River, Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson River, it is part of the watershed of Hudson Bay, draining an area of 2,233 square miles (5,783 km²) in the Red River Valley region. Its tributaries also drain a small part of northeastern South Dakota. Despite its length, it is a fairly small stream, flowing at an average rate of approximately 100 cubic feet per second (3 m³/s).
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[edit] Course
The Wild Rice River rises as an intermittent stream in Brampton Township in southeastern Sargent County, approximately six miles (10 km) south of Cogswell. It initially flows generally eastwardly in a winding course through Sargent and Richland Counties, through the Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge and past the towns of Cayuga, Mantador and Great Bend. Past Great Bend, the river turns northward; from west of the city of Wahpeton it generally parallels the Red River in a winding channel at a distance of approximately three to seven miles (5-11 km). It flows into the Red River in southeastern Cass County, approximately three miles (5 km) southeast of Frontier and seven miles (11 km) south of Fargo.[7]
[edit] Flow rate
The United States Geological Survey operates a stream gauge on the river 3.2 miles (5.2 km) northwest of Abercrombie. Between 1932 and 2005, the annual mean flow of the river at the gauge was 104 cubic feet per second (3 m³/s). The river's highest flow during the period was 9,540 ft³/s (270 m³/s) on April 11, 1969. Readings of zero have also been recorded.[3]
At an upstream gauge near Rutland in Sargent County, the annual mean flow between 1960 and 1982 was 8.36 ft³/s (0 m³/s). A reading of 2,700 ft³/s (76 m³/s) was recorded on April 3, 1997.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ National Assessment Database. Sum of river segments, with section upstream of Wild Rice Creek estimated at ten miles per DeLorme and GNIS source coordinates, and total rounded to 240.
- ^ Red River of the North, Reconnaissance Report.
- ^ a b Robinson, pp. 44-45
- ^ a b Robinson, pp. 38-39
- ^ a b Geographic Names Information System.
- ^ a b Google Earth.
- ^ North Dakota Atlas & Gazetteer, pp. 52-53, 63-64
[edit] Sources
[edit] Books
- (1999) North Dakota Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Me.: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-343-5.
[edit] Websites
- Geographic Names Information System entry for Wild Rice River (Feature ID #1035247). Geographic Names Information System. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- National Assessment Database: Assessment Data for the State of North Dakota Year 2004. Western Wild Rice Watershed. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- Red River of the North, Reconnaissance Report: Wild Rice River. Defense Technical Information Center, United States Department of Defense (December 1980). Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- Robinson, S. M.; R. F. Lundgren, B. A. Sether, S. W. Norbeck, J. M. Lambrecht. Water Resources Data North Dakota Water Year 2005, Volume 1 Surface Water.. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
[edit] Software
- Google Earth elevations for Geographic Names Information System coordinates. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
