MINNESOTA RIVER

river rising at Ortonville, Minn., U.S., at the southern tip of Big Stone Lake, on the South DakotaMinnesota boundary, and flowing south-southeast, then northeast from Mankato, Minn., to join the Mississippi River at Mendota, just south of St. Paul. The Minnesota (a Sioux name meaning sky-tinted water) is approximately 332 miles (534 km) long. The river was once known as the St. Peter or St. Pierre and was important to early explorers and fur traders. Big Stone Lake Dam, near Ortonville, and Marsh Lake Dam, where the Pomme de Terre River joins the Minnesota, are part of a flood-control project.