The Cedar River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 13, 2011

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. It is a tributary of the Iowa River, which flows to the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. The Cedar River takes its name from the red cedar (''Juniperus virginiana'') trees growing there, and was originally called the Red Cedar River by the Meskwaki. The first Mississippi

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

reached

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

in 1844, and during the next decade, the Red Cedar (as it was still called) was an important commercial waterway. The surrounding region is known officially as the Cedar River Valley, though it is more commonly referred to simply as the Cedar Valley. The stream is young geologically, and only in places where the glacial material has been removed is the underlying bedrock exposed.

Geography

The headwaters of the Cedar River are located in Dodge County, Minnesota, consisting of a west fork and middle fork approximately three miles northeast of the town of Blooming Prairie, and an east fork approximately one mile south of the town of Hayfield. It then flows into

Mower County, Minnesota Mower County () is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,029. The county seat is Austin. Mower County comprises the Austin Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Rochester-Austin C ...

through the townships of Udolpho,

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

(where Turtle Creek and Dobbins Creek join it), and Lyle. It then flows into

Mitchell County, Iowa Mitchell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,565. The county seat is Osage. It is not clear whom the county is named after: the county website mentions John Mitchell, an early surv ...

and Floyd County, Iowa with the endpoint being located in Louisa County, Iowa at the town of

Columbus Junction Columbus Junction is a city in Louisa County, Iowa. The population was 1,830 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area. Columbus Junction is home of the historic Swinging Bridge, found one block south of Hi ...

, where it joins with the Iowa River which then winds its way to the

. Despite being a tributary of the Iowa River, it appears larger than the Iowa River at their confluence point. Palisades-Kepler State Park is located on the Cedar River near Cedar Rapids. At

Conesville, Iowa Conesville is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 352 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Conesville was once a depot on the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and North ...

, the Cedar River is approximately 5,798 cubic feet per second. Cedar County, Iowa is named for the river. Major cities (with populations greater than 20,000) located along the Cedar River include Austin, Minnesota, Cedar Falls, Iowa,

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...

, and

Flooding

1993

In 1993, the river flooded some areas of downtown Cedar Rapids. The river crested at 19.83 feet. This was the worst flood in Iowa's recorded history, before the Cedar River flooded again in 2008.

2008

In 2008, flooding of the river caused the evacuation of around 20,000 of Cedar Rapids' residents and flooded over 1,200 blocks of the city."Mandatory evacuations in Cedar Rapids flood"
''Chicago Tribune'', June 12, 2008
/ref> Upriver, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area was less affected, thanks mainly to the large dikes that protect the downtowns of both cities. To the north, the flooding Cedar River collapsed Charles City's landmark suspension bridge, as well as destroying many homes and community parks.

2013

References

External links

John Page: Cedar River SeriesCedar River Environmental Group
{{authority control Rivers of Iowa Rivers of Minnesota Rivers of Dodge County, Minnesota Rivers of Mower County, Minnesota Rivers of Mitchell County, Iowa Rivers of Floyd County, Iowa Rivers of Louisa County, Iowa Rivers of Linn County, Iowa Rivers of Black Hawk County, Iowa Geography of Cedar Rapids, Iowa Tributaries of the Mississippi River