Straight River (southern Minnesota)

Geobox River
name = Straight River
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =

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image_size = 300
image_caption = The Straight River in Owatonna in 2007
country = United States
state = Minnesota
region =
region1 =
district =
district1 =
city =
city1 =
length_imperial = 45.4
length_note = cite web |url= http://iaspub.epa.gov/waters/w305b_report_control.get_report?p_state=MN |title= National Assessment Database: Assessment Data for the State of Minnesota Year 2004. |pages= [http://iaspub.epa.gov/tmdl/w305b_report_V4.huc?p_huc=07040002&p_state=MN Cannon Watershed] |publisher= United States Environmental Protection Agency |accessdate= 2007-06-24]
watershed_imperial = 450
watershed_note = cite web |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-mn-05-1/ |pages = [http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-mn-05-1/05243725.2005.sw.pdf Straight River near Park Rapids, MN] |title=Water Resources Data in Minnesota, Water Year 2005 Annual Report. |first= G. B. |last=Mitton |coauthors=K. G. Guttormson, G. W. Stratton, E. S. Wakeman |publisher=United States Geological Survey |accessdate=2007-06-24]
discharge_location = near Faribault
discharge_imperial = 293
discharge_max_imperial = 6080
discharge_min_imperial = 10
discharge_note =
discharge1_location =
discharge1_imperial =
source_name =
source_location = Geneva Township
source_district = Freeborn County
source_region =
source_lat_d = 43
source_lat_m = 49
source_lat_s = 58
source_lat_NS = N
source_long_d = 93
source_long_m = 15
source_long_s = 46
source_long_EW = W
source_coordinates_note = cite web |url=Gnis3|652708 |title=Geographic Names Information System entry for Straight River (Feature ID #652708) |work=Geographic Names Information System |publisher= United States Geological Survey |accessdate=2007-06-24]
source_elevation_imperial = 1214
source_elevation_note = Google Earth per GNIS coordinates. Retrieved on 2007-06-24.]
mouth_name = Cannon River
mouth_location = Faribault Township
mouth_district = Rice County
mouth_region =
mouth_lat_d = 44
mouth_lat_m = 18
mouth_lat_s = 36
mouth_lat_NS = N
mouth_long_d = 93
mouth_long_m = 16
mouth_long_s = 13
mouth_long_EW = W
mouth_coordinates_note =
mouth_elevation_imperial = 958
mouth_elevation_note =
tributary_left =
tributary_left1 =
tributary_right =
tributary_right1 =
free_name =
free_value =


map_size =
map_caption =

The Straight River is a tributary of the Cannon River, 45 miles (73 km) long, in southeastern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Cannon River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of approximately 450 square miles (1,165 km²) in an agricultural region.

Its name is a translation of "Owatonna", the Dakota name for the river. Despite its name, the river flows in a winding course, though its valley is fairly straight. [cite web |url=http://mnplaces.mnhs.org/upham/index.cfm |title=Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia. |accessdate=2007-06-24 |last=Upham |first=Warren |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society |pages= [http://mnplaces.mnhs.org/upham/waterway.cfm?PlaceNameID=8791&BookCodeID=53&County=74&SendingPage=Results.cfm Steele County] ] The river provided hydropower for flour milling operations in the 19th century.cite web |url= http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/canoeing/straightriver/index.html |title= Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Canoeing: Straight River |publisher= Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |year= 2007 |accessdate= 2007-06-17]

Geography

The source of the Straight River is considered to be just north of Geneva in Geneva Township in northern Freeborn County, though its headwaters have been altered by the construction of agricultural ditches. The river flows northward through Steele County into southern Rice County, passing through the cities of Owatonna and Medford, to its mouth at the Cannon River in Faribault.cite book| title= Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer |year=1994 |publisher= DeLorme |location=Yarmouth, Me. |isbn= 0-89933-222-6 |pages= pp. 24, 33]

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has identified the Straight River as a route for canoeing. The river flows generally through farmland; its narrow riparian corridor is wooded, predominantly by elm, willow, poplar and maple. Its course is characterized by occasional riffles, with one section of rapids in Clinton Falls Township in northern Steele County. Fish species in the river include northern pike, crappie, smallmouth bass and carp.

Chief tributaries of the Straight River include Turtle Creek in central Steele County, Maple Creek, which rises from Rice Lake in eastern Steele County and joins the Straight River in Owatonna, Crane Creek, rising in Waseca and flowing into the Straight River to the north of Owatonna, and Medford Creek.

Flow rate

At the United States Geological Survey's stream gauge upstream of Faribault, the annual mean flow of the river between 1966 and 2005 was 293 cubic feet per second (8 m³/s). The highest recorded flow during the period was 6,080 ft³/s (172 m³/s) on June 12, 2004. The lowest recorded flow was 10 ft³/s (0 m³/s) on October 27, 1976.

ee also

*List of rivers in Minnesota

References