Cedar River (Iowa River)

The Cedar River is a river in Minnesota and Iowa which is named after the juniper (also called " red cedar ") trees growing there. The surrounding region is known officially as the Cedar River Valley, however it is more commonly referred to simply as the Cedar Valley.

Geography

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 (where Turtle Creek and Dobbins Creek join it), 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.

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.

Flooding

1993

In 1993, the river flooded some areas of downtown Cedar Rapids. The river crested at 19.83 feet. This was the worst flood (although the worst of the flood took place in the Missouri area with the Mississippi River and Missouri River, but the Cedar River flooded too) in Iowa before the Cedar River flooded again in 2008, this time with higher levels of flooding.

2008

In 2008, flooding of the river caused the evacuation of around 10,000 of Cedar Rapids' residents and flooded over 400 blocks of the city. ["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] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.bobolinkbooks.com/Iowa/jphome.html John Page: Cedar River Series]
* [http://www.thecregproject.org/default.php Cedar River Environmental Group]

ee also

*List of Iowa rivers
*List of Minnesota rivers