The Whetstone River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed October 5, 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

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

, in northeastern

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

and a very small portion of western

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. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the

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 ...

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 ...

Course

The Whetstone is formed by the confluence of its North and South forks northeast of

Milbank, South Dakota Milbank is a city in Grant County, South Dakota, United States, located along the South Fork of the Whetstone River. The population was 3,544 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Grant County. Milbank is the birthplace of American Legio ...

and flows generally eastward across the

Coteau des Prairies The Coteau des Prairies is a plateau approximately 200 miles in length and 100 miles in width (320 by 160 km), rising from the prairie flatlands in eastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, and northwestern Iowa in the United States. ...

in northern

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States *Grant County, Arkansas *Grant County, Indiana *Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky *Grant County, Minnesota *Grant County, Nebraska *Grant Co ...

, past Big Stone City. It enters the Minnesota River at

Ortonville, Minnesota Ortonville is a city in Big Stone County in the U.S. state of Minnesota at the southern tip of Big Stone Lake, along the border with South Dakota. The population was 2,021 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Big Stone County. Big Sto ...

, about 0.25 mi (0.4 km) after crossing the state line and just downstream of the Minnesota's emergence from

Big Stone Lake Big Stone Lake ( dak, Íŋyaŋ Tháŋka Bdé) is a long, narrow freshwater lake and reservoir on the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota in the United States. Description The lake covers , stretching from end to end ...

. At Big Stone City, the river has a mean annual discharge of 69 cubic feet per second. Upstream of Big Stone City, the river collects two tributaries, the North Fork Whetstone River and the South Fork Whetstone River, each of which rises on the Coteau. The North Fork flows southeastward from Roberts County and passes near the town of

Wilmot Wilmot may refer to: Places Australia *Division of Wilmot, an abolished Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania *Wilmot, Tasmania, a locality in the North-West Region Canada *Wilmot, Nova Scotia, an unincorporated rural community and former to ...

. The South Fork flows westward in Grant County and passes the town of Milbank.

References

Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
*

DeLorme DeLorme is the producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company’s main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and receive text messages ...

(1994). ''Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. . *

(2001). ''South Dakota Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. . *Geographic Names Information System entries for , , , retrieved 6 February 2006 Rivers of Minnesota Rivers of South Dakota Rivers of Big Stone County, Minnesota Rivers of Grant County, South Dakota Rivers of Roberts County, South Dakota Tributaries of the Minnesota River {{SouthDakota-river-stub

Course

See also

References