| Raccoon River | |
| River | |
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The Raccoon River at Van Meter
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| Country | US |
|---|---|
| State | Iowa |
| Districts | Polk County, Iowa, Dallas County, Iowa |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | South Raccoon River |
| - right | North Raccoon River |
| Source | |
| - elevation | 850 ft (259 m) |
| - coordinates | |
| Mouth | Des Moines River |
| - location | Des Moines, Iowa |
| - elevation | 761 ft (232 m) |
| - coordinates | |
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Map of the Raccoon River watershed
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| "USGS Geographic Names Information System". http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:460494. Retrieved 18 September 2009. | |
The Raccoon River is a 30.8-mile-long (49.6 km)[1] tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States. As measured using the longest of its three forks, its length increases to 226 miles (364 km).[1] Via the Des Moines River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.
During the Great Flood of 1993, the Raccoon River flooded the water treatment facility of Des Moines, shutting off the city's supply of drinking water.
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The Raccoon River flows for much of its length as three streams:
The north and south forks join in Dallas County just west of Van Meter, and the Raccoon River flows generally eastwardly into Polk County, past Walnut Woods State Park and West Des Moines. It joins the Des Moines River just south of downtown Des Moines.