The Leaf River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed December 26, 2012

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Crow Wing River The Crow Wing River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 29, 2012 tributary of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, United States. The river rises at an elevation ...

in west-central

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Via the Crow Wing, it is part of 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 ...

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

Course

The Leaf rises from the Leaf Lakes chain (West, Middle and East) in northeastern

Otter Tail County Otter Tail County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, its population was 60,081. Its county seat is Fergus Falls. Otter Tail County comprises the Fergus Falls micropolitan statistical area. With 1,048 lakes in it ...

and flows generally east past the town of Bluffton into southern Wadena County. It joins the Crow Wing River from the west in Thomastown Township, about north-northwest of the town of Staples and about upstream of the mouth of the Partridge River. On the Crow between the Leaf and Partridge rivers are sites of pre-settlement fur trading posts. The Leaf's largest tributaries are the Wing River and the

Redeye River The Redeye River is a tributary of the Leaf River, long, in central Minnesota in the United States. Via the Leaf and Crow Wing Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of in a rural region. The river's name ...

, both of which join it in Wadena County.

Culture

Leaf River serves as land-cession boundary for the 1847 Treaty of Washington, signed between the

Pillager Chippewa Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians (or simply the Pillagers; in the Ojibwe language) are a historical band of Chippewa (Ojibwe) who settled at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in present-day Minnesota. Their name "Pillagers" is a translatio ...

s and the United States, and for the land-cession boundaries for the 1855 Treaty of Washington, signed between the

Mississippi Chippewa Mississippi River Band of Chippewa Indians ( oj, Gichi-ziibiwininiwag) or simply the Mississippi Chippewa, are a historical Ojibwa Band inhabiting the headwaters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries in present-day Minnesota. According to th ...

s and the United States. The land ceded to the United States by the Pillagers in 1847 was sold to the

Menomini The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recog ...

, but the Menomini refused removal out of Wisconsin and subsequently sold the land to the United States in 1854.

fishing

Fishing is popular on the leaf river. Species that resides in the leaf river include walleye, rock bass, Northern Pike, Carp and suckers.

References

Rivers of Otter Tail County, Minnesota Rivers of Minnesota Rivers of Wadena County, Minnesota Tributaries of the Mississippi River {{Minnesota-river-stub

Course

Culture

fishing

See also

References