Menominee River (Illinois) (original) (raw)

This article is about the river in Wisconsin and Illinois. For the Wisconsin - Michigan river, see Menominee River. For the river in southeastern Wisconsin, see Menomonee River.

River

Menominee River
Menominee River (USGS)
Map
Physical characteristics
Source
• location Grant County, Wisconsin
• coordinates 42°33′44″N 90°36′09″W / 42.5622222°N 90.6025°W / 42.5622222; -90.6025 (Menominee River origin)
• elevation 796 ft (243 m)
Mouth
• location Confluence with the Mississippi, Jo Daviess County, Illinois
• coordinates 42°27′04″N 90°35′24″W / 42.4511111°N 90.59°W / 42.4511111; -90.59 (Menominee River mouth)
• elevation 597 ft (182 m)
Length 14 mi (23 km)
Basin features
Progression Menominee River → Mississippi → Gulf of Mexico
GNIS ID 413409

The Menominee River is an 11.3-mile-long (18.2 km)[1] tributary of the Mississippi River, which it joins in Jo Daviess County, Illinois.[2]

The name "Menominee" refers to the Menominee, a Native American people. The name means "good seed" or "wild rice".

The Menominee rises in Grant County, Wisconsin at the confluence of Louisburg and Kieler creeks one mile south of Kieler just east of U.S. Route 151 and flows south past Sandy Hook and enters Illinois just south of Wisconsin Highway 11.[3] It continues south through the northwestern corner of Illinois for about four miles before reaching its confluence with the Mississippi River after crossing under U.S. Route 20.[4]

The river is part of the Driftless Area of Illinois and Wisconsin, a region that remained ice-free during the last ice age.

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 13, 2011
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Menominee River
  3. ^ Kieler, WI, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1961 (1978 rev.)
  4. ^ Menominee, IL-IA, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1955 (1971 rev.)