SOURIS RIVER

tributary of the Assiniboine River, in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (Canada) and North Dakota (U.S.). Rising in southeastern Saskatchewan, it receives drainage from Moose Mountain and Coteau du Missouri and flows southeastward into North Dakota. It then bends northward to reenter Canada and finally joins the Assiniboine near Brandon in Manitoba, after a course of 600 miles (966 km), which is only partly navigable. Much of its drainage basin of 22,000 square miles (57,000 square km) is floored with silt and clay deposited on the bottom of what was once glacial Lake Souris; this fertile soil forms the basis of a productive agricultural area known for its hard, red spring wheat. The Souris (French: mouse) flows through a region that is also rich in minerals. Coal is mined near Estevan and Bienfait (Saskatchewan) and Minot (North Dakota), while oil is extracted from the vicinity of Midale (Saskatchewan) and Virden (Manitoba).