List of longest streams of Minnesota

Longest streams of Minnesota
[note 1]

Out of the 6,564 streams that flow through the U.S. State of Minnesota, there are 114 streams that are at least 30 miles long. The second longest river in the United States, the Mississippi River, originates in Minnesota before flowing south to the Gulf of Mexico. The longest river entirely within the state of Minnesota is the Minnesota River. Other rivers over 200 miles long include the Red River of the North, Des Moines River, Cedar River, Wapsipinicon River, Little Sioux River, and Roseau River.^[1][2]

Sections of several of the longest rivers define sections of the Minnesota border.^[3] The Red River of the North forms the border with North Dakota to the west. The Bois de Sioux River forms the border with South Dakota to the west. The Mississippi River, St. Croix River, and the St. Louis River form the border with Wisconsin to the east. The Rainy River and Pigeon River form the border with Ontario, Canada to the north.

Minnesota contains three major drainage basins with waters from Minnesota rivers flowing south, north, or east.^[1] These major drainage basins meet in a triple divide point called the Hill of Three Waters, just north of Hibbing, Minnesota.^[4]

• The Mississippi River drains south to the Gulf of Mexico. In Minnesota, this basin is traditionally subdivided into the following major sub-basins:
  • Headwaters of the Mississippi River (above St. Paul)
  • Minnesota River drainage basin (17,000 sq mi (44,000 km²))
  • St. Croix River drainage basin (7,700 sq mi (20,000 km²))
  • Lower portion of the Upper Mississippi River (Below St. Paul). Some of these rivers discharge into the Mississippi within the borders of Minnesota, and some farther south, including the Des Moines River, the Cedar / Iowa River, and others
  • Tributaries of the Missouri River also have drainage basins in far southwest Minnesota
• Water flows to the north in the Hudson Bay/Artic drainage basin (3,861,400 sq mi (10,001,000 km²)), which includes the Red River of the North drainage basin (111,004 sq mi (287,500 km²)) and Lake of the Woods drainage basin (13,805 sq mi (35,750 km²))—of which 7,285 sq mi (18,870 km²) is in Minnesota.
• The Great Lakes Basin to the east includes the Lake Superior drainage basin in Minnesota and Wisconsin (49,300 sq mi (128,000 km²)).^[5] Minnesota water flows eastward through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

A sortable table below lists the 114 streams flowing in Minnesota that have a total length greater than or equal to 30 miles. The stream's tributary and watershed are given. The source or mouth of some streams is in other U.S. states or Canadian provinces. Other than border rivers, the only rivers that originate in other states are the Little Minnesota River (South Dakota), St. Croix River (Wisconsin), and Upper Tamarack River (Wisconsin). The 21 streams that are not entirely within the state are indicated by a † after the order number. The coordinates and location county of the mouth and source of the stream are indicated, as well as the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Geographic Names Information System ID and other references and notes.^{[note 2]} Lengths and elevations are derived from the National Elevation Dataset or reference to it in the USGS GNIS Database.^[6] A link to an Open Street Map template is listed at the top of this article that will generate a map showing the source and mouth coordinates of all of these streams. For consistency and accuracy, the sources for this information are primarily data from the USGS GeoNames and National Elevation database, supplemented by other sources.

The map below shows the major streams and lakes in Minnesota.^[33]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rivers of Minnesota.

• Geography of Minnesota
• List of longest rivers in the United States by state
• List of rivers of Minnesota
• List of rivers of Iowa
• List of rivers of North Dakota
• List of rivers of South Dakota
• List of rivers of Wisconsin
• List of lakes of Minnesota

• Mary E. Renwick; Susanna Eden. "Minnesota Rivers, a Primer" (PDF). Water Resources Center, University of Minnesota.
• "Current Conditions for Minnesota: Streamflow -- 149 site(s) found". USGS. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
• Waters, Thomas F. (2010). The Rivers of Minnesota: Recreation and Conservation. Riparian Press. ISBN 978-0963761620.
• Waters, Thomas F. (1980). Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Univ Of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816609608.