James River (Dakotas)

Coordinates: 42°52′17″N 97°17′26″W / 42.87139°N 97.29056°W / 42.87139; -97.29056

James River
Jim River, Dakota River
River
The James River near Scotland, South Dakota
Country	United States
States	North Dakota, South Dakota
Cities	Jamestown, ND, Aberdeen, SD, Huron, SD, Mitchell, SD, Yankton, SD
Source	Unnamed pond
- location	Wells County, North Dakota
- elevation	1,871 ft (570 m)
- coordinates	47°28′53″N 99°51′32″W / 47.48139°N 99.85889°W / 47.48139; -99.85889
Mouth	Missouri River
- location	Yankton County, near Yankton, South Dakota
- elevation	1,152 ft (351 m)
- coordinates	42°52′17″N 97°17′26″W / 42.87139°N 97.29056°W / 42.87139; -97.29056
Length	710 mi (1,143 km)
Basin	20,942 sq mi (54,240 km2)
Discharge	for Scotland, SD
- average	646 cu ft/s (18 m3/s)
- max	29,400 cu ft/s (833 m3/s)
- min	0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
The course and watershed of the James River.

This excerpt from the Lewis and Clark map of 1814 shows the rivers of western Iowa and eastern South Dakota. The James (Jacque) is seen near the left center of the map.

The James River (also known as the Jim River or the Dakota River) is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 710 mi (1,143 km) long, draning an area of 20,653 square miles (53,490 km²) in the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota.^[1] The river provides the main drainage of the flat lowland area of the Dakotas between the two plateau regions known as the Coteau du Missouri and the Coteau des Prairies. This narrow area was formed by the lobe of a glacier during the last ice age, and as a consequence the watershed of the river is slender and it has few major tributaries for a river of its length.

The river rises in Wells County, North Dakota, approximately 10 mi (16 km) northwest of Fessenden. It flows briefly east towards New Rockford, then generally SSE through eastern North Dakota, past Jamestown, where it is first impounded by a large reservoir (the Jamestown Dam), and then joined by the Pipestem River. It enters northeastern South Dakota in Brown County, where it is impounded to form two reservoirs northeast of Aberdeen.

The James River in Jamestown, North Dakota

At Columbia, it is joined by the Elm River. Flowing southward across eastern South Dakota, it passes Huron and Mitchell, where it is joined by the Firesteel Creek. South of Mitchell, it flows southeast and joins the Missouri just east of Yankton.

Originally called "E-ta-zi-po-ka-se Wakpa," literally "unnavigable river" by the Dakota tribes, the river was named Rivière aux Jacques (literally, "James River" in English) by French explorers. By the time Dakota Territory was incorporated, it was being called the James River. This name was provided by Thomas L. Rosser, a former Confederate general who helped to build the Northern Pacific Railroad across North Dakota. A Virginian, he named the river and the settlement of Jamestown, North Dakota, after the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia. (The coincidence of the old French name "Jacques" directly translating as "James" in English is noted.) However, the Dakota Territory Organic Act of 1861 renamed it the Dakota River. The new name failed to attain popular usage and the river retains its pre-1861 name.

References

1. ^ http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/nwisman/?site_no=06478500&agency_cd=USGS

See also

• List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem)
• List of North Dakota rivers
• List of South Dakota rivers