The Cottonwood River is a tributary of the Minnesota River in southwestern Minnesota. The river flows for 100 miles (161 kilometers) and drains a 1,284 square mile (3325 square kilometer) watershed in Lyon, Murray, Cottonwood, Redwood, and Brown counties. The Cottonwood River is longer, larger, and has a greater drainage area than the Redwood, Yellow Medicine, or Lac qui Parle Rivers (the Minnesota River's other three major tributaries running off the Coteau). The Cottonwood joins the Minnesota River near the city of New Ulm, Minnesota. The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the state of Minnesota in the United States. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area Ranked 12th - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 400 miles (645 km) - % water 8. ... Lyon County is a county located in the state of Minnesota. ... Murray County is a county located in the state of Minnesota, United States. ... Cottonwood County is a county located in the state of Minnesota. ... Redwood County is a county located in the state of Minnesota. ... Brown County is a county located in the state of Minnesota. ... The Redwood River watershed is one of 13 major watersheds feeding the Minnesota River. ... The Yellow Medicine River is a small tributary of the Minnesota River in southwestern Minnesota. ... The Lac qui Parle River is a tributary of the Minnesota River in southwestern Minnesota and eastern South Dakota. ... Parking meter checker stands by his police vehicle which is imprinted with the German word for police (Polizei). ...
The source of the river is in the Coteau des Prairies, a morainal plateau in the marshes of Lyon County's Rock Lake. Most of the Coteau's wetlands have been drained and converted to cultivated fields. Approximately 84% of the watershed's land is used for agriculture. The Coteau des Prairies: orange arrows indicate paths of the two lobes of the glacier around either side of the formation. ...
The climate within the Cottonwood River Watershed is continental, with cold dry winters and warm wet summers.
The 1,284 square mile CottonwoodRiver Watershed is situated between the Little CottonwoodRiver Sub-Watershed to the east and the RedwoodRiver Watershed to the west.
The position of this moraine indicates that the valley of the Cottonwood was developed along the southwest margin of the Des Moines lobe of the last glacier, at a time when the ice recession was halted and the moraine that parallels the valley was formed.
Seasonal patterns often influence flow discharge patterns in the CottonwoodRiver; the general trend is for flows to increase in spring, peak in late spring to early summer, and decline through late summer.
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