Zumbro River

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The South Fork of the Zumbro River, passing through Rochester's flood control project
The South Fork of the Zumbro River, passing through Rochester's flood control project
The North Fork of the Zumbro River in Zumbrota
The North Fork of the Zumbro River in Zumbrota

The Zumbro River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is about 50 mi (80 km) long from the confluence of its principal tributaries and drains a watershed of 1,428 sq mi (3699 km²).

[edit] Course

The Zumbro rises as three forks:

The South Fork Zumbro River, about 50 mi (80 km) long, rises about 2 mi (3 km) north of Hayfield in southern Dodge County and flows generally eastwardly into Olmsted County, where it turns northward at Rochester and flows into southwestern Wabasha County. The South Fork's course through Rochester has been channelized as part of a flood control project. It is dammed in Wabasha County, by the Lake Zumbro Hydroelectric Generating Plant to form Lake Zumbro.

The Middle Fork Zumbro River, about 40 mi (65 km) long, rises in northeastern Steele County, about 4 mi (6 km) west of West Concord and flows generally eastwardly through northern Dodge, southwestern Goodhue and northeastern Olmsted Counties, past Pine Island and Oronoco. At Pine Island it collects the North Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River, which rises in southwestern Goodhue County and flows eastwardly through southern Goodhue and northern Dodge Counties. At Oronoco it collects the South Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River, which rises in eastern Steele County and flows eastwardly into Dodge County, past Mantorville. The Middle Fork meets the South Fork in north-central Olmsted County as part of Zumbro Lake.

The North Fork Zumbro River, about 50 mi (80 km) long, rises 5 mi (8 km) east of Faribault in southwestern Rice County and flows eastwardly through southern Goodhue and southwestern Wabasha Counties, past Kenyon, Wanamingo, Zumbrota and Mazeppa.

The North and South Forks join about 4 mi (6 km) east of Mazeppa in southwestern Wabasha County, and the Zumbro River flows eastwardly through Wabasha County, through the Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest and past Zumbro Falls, Hammond, Millville and Kellogg. It flows into the Mississippi River about 4 mi (6 km) east of Kellogg.

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