The Mississippi River is the primary river, and second-longest river, of the largest drainage basin in the United States. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows generally south for 2,340 miles (3,766 km) to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. The main stem is entirely within the United States; the total drainage basin is 1,151,000 sq mi (2,980,000 km2), of which only about one percent is in Canada. The Mississippi ranks as the thirteenth-largest river by discharge in the world. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Wabasha County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,387. Its county seat is Wabasha.
Wabasha is a city and the county seat of Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,559 at the time of the 2020 census. It is on the Mississippi River, near its confluence with the Zumbro River.
Lake City is a city in Goodhue and Wabasha counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It lies along Lake Pepin, a wide portion of the Mississippi River. The population was 5,252 at the 2020 census. Most of Lake City is located within Wabasha County with only a small portion in Goodhue County. Lake City is part of the Rochester, Minnesota Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Nelson is a town in Buffalo County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 571 at the 2010 census. The village of Nelson is located within the town. The unincorporated community of Misha Mokwa and railroad junction Trevino are located in the town. The unincorporated community of Urne is located partially in the town.
Lake Pepin is a naturally occurring lake on the Mississippi River on the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is located in a valley carved by the outflow of an enormous glacial lake at the end of the last Ice Age. The lake formed when the Mississippi, a successor to the glacial river, was partially dammed by a delta from a tributary stream and spread out across the ancient valley.
Frontenac State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, on the Mississippi River 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Red Wing. The park is notable both for its history and for its birdwatching opportunities. The centerpiece of the park is a 430-foot-high (130 m), 3-mile-long (4.8 km) steep limestone bluff overlooking Lake Pepin, a natural widening of the Mississippi. The bluff is variously called Garrard's Bluff or Point No-Point, the latter name coming from riverboat captains because of the optical illusion that it protruded into the Mississippi River. There is a natural limestone arch on the blufftop called In-Yan-Teopa, a Dakota name meaning "Rock With Opening". Park lands entirely surround the town of Frontenac, once a high-class resort at the end of the 19th century.
Weaver is an unincorporated community in Minneiska Township, Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States. The Whitewater River and the Mississippi River meet at Weaver.
West Albany is an unincorporated community in West Albany Township, Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States.
The National Eagle Center is a nonprofit educational, interpretive center and museum located on the banks of the Mississippi River in Wabasha, Minnesota, United States, that focuses on education about eagles and the Upper Mississippi River watershed. In addition to opportunities to view wild eagles throughout the year from viewing decks, non-releasable bald eagles are on exhibit at the center as well as interactive exhibits on eagle science and history.
Reads Landing is an unincorporated community in Pepin Township, Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States, along the Mississippi River. The community is located between Lake City and Wabasha along U.S. Highway 61 at the junction with Wabasha County Road 77 and near Wabasha, Lake City, Camp Lacupolis, and Maple Springs. Reads Landing is located within section 24 of Pepin Township.
Camp Lacupolis is an unincorporated community in Pepin Township, Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States, along the Mississippi River and Lake Pepin.
Eggleston is a neighborhood of the city of Red Wing in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States.
Frontenac is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Florence Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 249.
Dresbach is an unincorporated community in Dresbach Township, Winona County, Minnesota, United States.
River Junction is an unincorporated community in Houston County in the U.S. state of Minnesota, located immediately north of the city of La Crescent on the west bank of the Mississippi River. River Junction takes its name from a railroad station of the Milwaukee Road railroad. That station was located at the junction of two railway lines; the main line from Chicago and Milwaukee to La Crosse and thence across the Mississippi River to River Junction and north along the west bank of the river to St. Paul, and the line running south along the west side of the river to Iowa and points south.
Wacouta is an unincorporated community in Wacouta Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States.
Bear Valley is an unincorporated community in Chester Township, Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States.
Reads Landing School is a former school building in the unincorporated community of Reads Landing, Minnesota, United States. Built in 1870, it has been converted into the Wabasha County Historical Society Museum. The building is one of the state's oldest surviving brick schools, and typifies their characteristic boxy, bracketed, Italianate style. The school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and exploration/settlement. It was nominated for being a rare surviving example of Minnesota's early brick schools, and for its association with Reads Landing's peak as a lumber milling boomtown.
The Lucas Kuehn House is a historic house in Wabasha, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1878 for Lucas Kuehn (1834–?), the city's leading merchant of the 19th century. The house was the city's first to be designed in the Italianate style. It was also part of a unique trend among Wabasha's merchant class for houses constructed of brick. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and commerce. It was nominated for its associations with Kuehn and for its exemplary Italianate architecture.
