The Maquoketa River is a tributary 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, ...

, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 13, 2011 in northeastern

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 ...

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 territo ...

. Its watershed covers "Evaluating Agricultural Nonpoint Loadings on Pool 13 from Maquoketa River Watershed, Iowa"

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

, Retrieved July 18, 2007 within a rural region of rolling hills and

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

southwest of Dubuque. It is not to be confused with the Little Maquoketa River, another distinct direct tributary of the

Upper Mississippi River The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, at the confluence of its main tributary, the Missouri River. History In terms of geologic and hydrographic history, the Upper ...

meeting the Big River north of Dubuque. The river and its tributaries mark the border of the

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, a topographical and cultural region in the American Midwest, comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois. Never covered by ice during the ...

of Iowa, with the areas east of it not having been covered by ice during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. Its name derives from ''Maquaw-Autaw'', which means "Bear River" in

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...

Course

The Maquoketa rises in southeastern Fayette County just southwest of Arlington in Fairfield Township, and approximately east of

Oelwein Oelwein is a city in Fayette County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,920 at the time of the 2020 census, a decrease of 11.5% from the 2000 census. The largest community in Fayette County, it is located at the junction of State Highways ...

. It flows briefly northeastward, then generally southeastward through Clayton,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent De ...

Jones Jones may refer to: People * Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname * List of people with surname Jones * Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter Arts and entertainment * Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwe ...

and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, ...

Counties, through Backbone State Park and the towns of

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mi ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, ...

. At Maquoketa, it receives the North Fork Maquoketa River from the north; the North Fork rises in northern Dubuque County and flows generally southward past Dyersville and Cascade. The Maquoketa then flows generally eastward in a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank) and deposits sedimen ...

ing course as it approaches the Mississippi. It enters Pool 13 of the Mississippi from the southwest in eastern Jackson County a few miles upstream from Sabula approximately 30 mi (48 km) southeast of Dubuque. The river is considered one of the best smallmouth bass and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmo ...

fisheries in Iowa.

Dams

There are four small dams on the river: * Delhi Dam (the

terms it, Hartwick Dam) impounds Lake Delhi downriver from

in Delaware County. On Saturday July 24, 2010, the dam at Lake Delhi failed due to heavy rains and the rapid rise of the Maquoketa River. The dam has since been reconstructed. * The Mon-Maq dam in Jones County just east of

was once used to generate power for the town and is now a candidate for

dam removal Dam removal is the process of demolishing a dam, returning water flow to the river. Arguments for dam removal consider whether their negative effects outweigh their benefits. The benefits of dams include hydropower production, flood control, irr ...

* The Backbone Lake dam in Backbone State Park. * The Lakehurst dam at Maquoketa.

Recreation

The stretch of river from just below the Mon-Maq dam to

Iowa Highway 136 Iowa Highway 136 (Iowa 136) is a state highway maintained by the Iowa Department of Transportation. It runs for in eastern Iowa. It begins at the Mississippi River in Clinton on the Mark Morris Memorial Bridge, where it continues as Illinoi ...

is one of Iowa's most popular canoe trips. Along much of this stretch, the river flows through a canyon bounded by steep cliffs of

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

dolomite. Large tracts of surrounding land are open to the public, including the Pictured Rocks Wildlife Management Area (1,138 acres, cooperatively managed by Jones County and the Iowa DNR, and the Indian Bluffs Primitive Area State Preserve (845 acres, privately owned, managed by the Iowa DNR). The canyon walls in Pictured Rocks make it one of the most popular rock climbing areas in Eastern Iowa, with numerous routs and pre-set anchors for climbing ropes; the highest rock face is 75 feet (23m).Pictured Rocks Rock Climbing
the Mountain Project, retrieved Feb. 15, 2017. Maquoketa Caves State Park, a few miles upstream from Maquoketa protects a segment of the Driftless Area's

karst topography Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ...

, characterized by

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as se ...

s, ice caves and sinkholes.

References

External links

*
Univ. of Iowa: Bass on the MaquoketaSmallmouth bass
Retrieved July 18, 2007

{{authority control Rivers of Iowa Tributaries of the Mississippi River Driftless Area Rivers of Fayette County, Iowa Rivers of Clayton County, Iowa Rivers of Delaware County, Iowa Rivers of Jones County, Iowa Rivers of Jackson County, Iowa

Course

Dams

Recreation

See also

References

External links