Pipestone Creek (Big Sioux River tributary)

Pipestone Creek
Pipestone Creek
	Pipestone Creek flowing through the grounds of Pipestone National Monument
	Mouth of the Pipestone Creek
Location
Country	United States
State	Minnesota, South Dakota
County	Pipestone County, Minnesota, Moody County, South Dakota
Physical characteristics
Source
• coordinates	44°01′52″N 96°17′25″W / 44.031081°N 96.2903114°W
Mouth
• coordinates	43°48′14″N 96°26′28″W / 43.80389°N 96.44111°W
Length	53.2-mile-long (85.6 km)

Pipestone Creek is a 53.2-mile-long (85.6 km)^[1] river in southwestern Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota.^[2]

Course

Pipestone Creek has a center branch as well as branches named "North" and "South". The creek (center branch) begins about 3 miles (5 km) north of Holland (the high point of its watershed actually being underneath the north branch's watershed) and flows southwesterly, roughly following MN State Highway 23 for much of its early existence (also being known as County Ditch Number 1). The creek approaches the town of Pipestone from the east, but turns northwesterly just before Highway 23 meets U.S. Highway 75, with the creek going under both highways in rapid succession. Flowing through Pipestone National Monument, the creek passes over Winnewissa Falls, and then enters the adjacent State DNR controlled "Pipestone Wildlike Management Area" where a small "impoundment" (dam) forms "Indian Lake". The creek continues northwesterly until turning southwesterly just east of County Road 53. On the west side of County Rd 53, and on the North side of Country Rd 5, it is joined by the North branch, and on the south side of the same road, the South branch joins. The creek continues southwesterly, and crosses the state line in South Dakota above the road known as 81st Street in Minnesota and 236th A Street in South Dakota. It does not travel far into South Dakota, but loops back into Minnesota, flowing into Split Rock Creek within a mile of the state line, this confluence about 3 miles north of Sherman, South Dakota, also being 3 miles south of Jasper, Minnesota. Split Rock Creek itself is a tributary of the Big Sioux River, which in turn flows via the Missouri River and Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.^[3]

History

The creek was named for deposits of pipestone along its course.^[4]

References

^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 30, 2011
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pipestone Creek (Big Sioux River tributary)
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pipestone Creek
^ Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 419.

External links

Minnesota Watersheds
USGS Geographic Names Information Service
USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Minnesota (1974)

This article related to a river or creek in Minnesota is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about a location in Pipestone County, Minnesota is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article related to a river in South Dakota is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[NHD-1] U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 30, 2011

[2] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pipestone Creek (Big Sioux River tributary)

[3] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pipestone Creek

[4] Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 419.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Minnesota tributaries of the Upper Mississippi River below St Anthony Falls
Minnesota River	Little Minnesota River Pomme de Terre River Lac qui Parle River Chippewa River Yellow Medicine River Redwood River Cottonwood River Blue Earth River
St. Croix River	Kettle River Snake River
Cannon River	North Cannon River Little Cannon River Straight River Little Cannon River (Sabre Lake) Belle Creek
Zumbro River	North Fork Zumbro River Middle Fork Zumbro River North Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River South Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River South Fork Zumbro River
Whitewater River	North Fork Whitewater River Middle Fork Whitewater River South Fork Whitewater River
Root River	South Fork Root River Badger Creek South Branch Root River Camp Creek North Branch Root River Middle Branch Root River Rush Creek Pine Creek Coolridge Creek Hemingway Creek
Upper Iowa River (Iowa, Minnesota)	Pine Creek Little Iowa River North Branch Upper Iowa River
Iowa River (Iowa)	Cedar River Shell Rock River Winnebago River (Iowa) Lime Creek Little Cedar River (Iowa and Minnesota) Little Cedar River (Dodge County, Minnesota)
Des Moines River (Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri)	East Fork Des Moines River Heron Lake Outlet Jack Creek Diversion Creek Okabena Creek Lime Creek Beaver Creek
Missouri River (Missouri, Iowa)	Little Sioux River Ocheyedan River West Fork Little Sioux River Big Sioux River (Iowa) Rock River Little Rock River East Branch Rock River Split Rock Creek Pipestone Creek Flandreau Creek
Other rivers and streams	Crooked Creek North Fork Crooked Creek South Fork Crooked Creek Hay Creek Pine Creek Vermillion River South Branch Vermillion River Wapsipinicon River Wells Creek Winnebago Creek
Streams by region	Driftless Area Counties Dakota Dodge Fillmore Goodhue Houston Mower Olmsted Rice Wabasha Winona
See also: List of rivers of Minnesota, North Shore Streams, Wisconsin rivers, Iowa rivers, North Dakota rivers

Course

History

See also

References

External links