The Nemadji River is a river rising in
Pine County,
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 ...
, United States, which flows through
Carlton County, Minnesota
Carlton County is a county in the State of Minnesota, formed in 1857. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,207. Its county seat is Carlton. Part of the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation lies in northeastern Carlton County.
Carlton Co ...
, and
Douglas County,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, to
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
. The river is long measured from its source in Maheu Lake in Pine County, and from its confluence with the
South Fork in Carlton County just east of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed May 1, 2012 The Nemadji River empties into
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
in an industrial neighborhood at Allouez Bay in the city of
Superior's east-side neighborhood of Allouez and
Wisconsin Point.
Course
Most of the rivers' length flows in Douglas County, Wisconsin, entering near
Foxboro and exiting in East End, Superior, near Loons Foot Boat Landing, USH 2/53, and the BNSF Taconite Plant
History
Nemadji comes from the
Ojibwe language
Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian lan ...
, "ne-madji-tic-guay-och" (''Namanjinik-tigweyaag'' in the
current spelling), meaning "left-hand river,"
opposed to the
Saint Louis River, which when viewed from
Allouez Bay is the "right-hand river."
In 1992 a
Burlington Northern
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996.
Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroadin ...
train derailed south of Superior, releasing 30,000 gallons of
aromatic hydrocarbon
Aromatic compounds, also known as "mono- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons", are organic compounds containing one or more aromatic rings. The parent member of aromatic compounds is benzene. The word "aromatic" originates from the past grouping ...
s, a highly toxic chemical, into the Nemadji River. Fish, wildlife, and other resources were severely affected by the incident. In March 2004, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
proposed a draft that would use funds received from a settlement with Burlington Northern to restore a portion of the
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
basin affected by the incident. The river runs through the City of Superior, Town of Summit, Town of Superior, and the counties of Douglas, Carlton, Pine.
See also
*
List of rivers of Minnesota
Minnesota has 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for . The Mississippi River begins its journey from its headwaters at Lake Itasca and crosses the Iowa border downstream. It is joined by the Minnesota River at Fort Snellin ...
*
List of longest streams of Minnesota
Out of the 6,564 streams that flow through the U.S. State of Minnesota, there are 114 streams that are at least 30 miles long. The second longest river in the United States, the Mississippi River, originates in Minnesota before flowing south t ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
Nemadji River Basin Project, Carlton Co. SWCDNemadji River Home PageRestoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for Natural Resource Injuries Resulting from the Nemadji River Spill
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Rivers of Minnesota
Rivers of Wisconsin
Tributaries of Lake Superior
Rivers of Pine County, Minnesota
Rivers of Carlton County, Minnesota
Rivers of Douglas County, Wisconsin
Northern Minnesota trout streams