The Snake River is a

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

Red River of the North The Red River (french: rivière Rouge or ) is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, it fl ...

in northwestern

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 ...

. It is one of three streams in Minnesota with this name (see Snake River (Minnesota)). Snake River is the English translation of the native

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 languages of the Americas, indigenous language o ...

name.

Course

The Snake River is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed June 8, 2011 and with its tributaries drains a area. It flows for its entire length on the old lake bed of glacial

Lake Agassiz Lake Agassiz was a large glacial lake in central North America. Fed by glacial meltwater at the end of the last glacial period, its area was larger than all of the modern Great Lakes combined. First postulated in 1823 by William H. Keating, it ...

, mostly in western Marshall County but also through a small portion of northwestern

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

. After initially flowing southwestwardly from its headwaters, the Snake turns westward and collects a short tributary, the South Branch Snake River, and passes the towns of

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

and Alvarado. Downstream of Alvarado, the Snake turns north-northwestward, paralleling the Red River in the

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

. Much of the river's course through the valley has been straightened and channelized. It collects the Middle River upstream of its confluence with the Red in Fork Township.

References

* Waters, Thomas F. (1977). ''The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. .

External links

Snake River on the USGS National Map
Rivers of Minnesota Rivers of Marshall County, Minnesota Rivers of Polk County, Minnesota Tributaries of Hudson Bay {{Minnesota-river-stub

Course

See also

References

External links