The Mississippi River is the primary 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 river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. 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.
Morrison County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,010. Its county seat is Little Falls. Camp Ripley Military Reservation occupies a significant area in north-central Morrison County.
Crow Wing County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,123. Its county seat is Brainerd. The county was formed in 1857, and was organized in 1870.
Aitkin Township is a township in Aitkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 918 as of the 2020 census. The 2021 population estimate is 934.
Brainerd is a city and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence with the Crow Wing River, having been founded as a site for a railroad crossing above the confluence. Brainerd is the principal city of the Brainerd Micropolitan Area, a micropolitan area covering Cass and Crow Wing counties and with a combined population of 96,189 at the 2020 census. The city is well known for being the partial setting of the 1996 film Fargo.
The Crow Wing River is a 113-mile-long (182 km) tributary of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, United States. The river rises at an elevation of about 1391 feet in a chain of 11 lakes in southern Hubbard County, Minnesota, and flows generally south, then east, entering the Mississippi at Crow Wing State Park northwest of Little Falls, Minnesota. Its name is a loose translation from the Ojibwe language Gaagaagiwigwani-ziibi. A wing-shaped island at its mouth accounts for the river's name. Because of its many campsites and its undeveloped shores, the Crow Wing River is considered one of the state's best "wilderness" routes for canoeists; although it is shallow, it is nearly always deep enough for canoeing.
The Nokasippi River is a 46.5-mile-long (74.8 km) tributary of the Mississippi River in central Minnesota in the United States. In the Ojibwe language, the river is called Nooke-ziibi. The term "tender" generally refers to the Bear Totem, but in this case refers to Chief Nokay, who was named after the Bear Totem and lived along the shores of Nokay Lake.
The Platte River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in central Minnesota in the United States. It is 55.1 miles (88.6 km) long. Platte is a name derived from the French meaning "flat".
The Crow River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in south-central Minnesota in the United States. It drains a watershed of 2,756 square miles (7,140 km2).
The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is a 72-mile (116 km) and 54,000-acre (22,000 ha) protected corridor along the Mississippi River through Minneapolis–Saint Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from the cities of Dayton and Ramsey to just downstream of Hastings. This stretch of the upper Mississippi River includes natural, historical, recreational, cultural, scenic, scientific, and economic resources of national significance. This area is the only national park site dedicated exclusively to the Mississippi River. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is sometimes abbreviated as MNRRA or MISS, the four-letter code the National Park Service assigned to the area. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is classified as one of four national rivers in the United States, and despite its name is technically not one of the 40 national recreation areas.
The Dakota are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Western Dakota.
The Shell River is a 47.8-mile-long (76.9 km) tributary of the Crow Wing River in north-central Minnesota in the United States. Via the Crow Wing River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining a rural region.
The Fish Hook River, also spelled Fishhook River, is a tributary of the Shell River, 9 miles (14 km) long, in north-central Minnesota in the United States. The river's source, Fish Hook Lake, collects short tributaries known as the Portage River and the Potato River. Via the Shell and Crow Wing rivers, the Fish Hook River is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The river flows for its entire length in southwestern Hubbard County; its watershed extends into northeastern Becker County.
The Straight River is a tributary of the Fish Hook River, 23 miles (37 km) long, in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Via the Fish Hook, Shell, and Crow Wing Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of approximately 60 square miles (160 km2) in a rural region. The river is known as one of Minnesota's best trout fishing streams.
The Pine River is a 56.9-mile-long (91.6 km) tributary of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota, United States.
The Crow Wing Chain of Lakes is a chain of eleven shallow lakes along the Crow Wing River in Hubbard County, Minnesota, approximately 90 miles (140 km) upstream from the Crow Wing's confluence with the Mississippi River. Although connected, there are a few dams between a few of the lakes that are impossible to traverse via motorboats, although they are able to be crossed in canoe.
Rabbit Lake is a lake in eastern Crow Wing County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The community of Cuyuna is just south of the lake along Crow Wing County Road 31, which crosses the lake. The Mississippi River flows past just to the north of the lake.
