Maquoketa River

The Maquoketa River (Template:IPAc-en) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately Template:Convert long,<ref name=NHD>U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Template:Webarchive, accessed May 13, 2011</ref> in northeastern Iowa in the United States. Its watershed covers Template:Convert<ref name="USGS">"Evaluating Agricultural Nonpoint Loadings on Pool 13 from Maquoketa River Watershed, Iowa", USGS, Retrieved July 18, 2007</ref> within a rural region of rolling hills and farmland southwest of Dubuque. The river and its tributaries mark the border of the Driftless Area of Iowa, with the areas east of it not having been covered by ice during the last ice age. Its name derives from Maquaw-Autaw, which means "Bear River" in Meskwaki.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Course

The Maquoketa rises in southeastern Fayette County just southwest of Arlington in Fairfield Township, and approximately Template:Convert east of Oelwein. It flows briefly northeastward, then generally southeastward through Clayton, Delaware, Jones and Jackson Counties, through Backbone State Park and the towns of Dundee, Manchester and Monticello.

At Maquoketa, it receives the North Fork Maquoketa River from the north; the North Fork rises in northern Dubuque County and flows Template:Convert<ref name=NHD/> generally southward past Dyersville and Cascade. The Maquoketa then flows generally eastward in a meandering course as it approaches the Mississippi. It enters Pool 13<ref>Pool 13, Army Corps of Engineers, Retrieved July 18, 2007</ref> of the Mississippi from the southwest in eastern Jackson County a few miles upstream from Sabula approximately 30 mi (48 km) southeast of Dubuque.

The river is considered one of the best smallmouth bass and trout fisheries in Iowa.<ref>Iowa DNR: Trout fishing on the Maquoketa Template:Webarchive, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, retrieved July 18, 2007</ref>

Dams

There are four small dams on the river:

• Delhi Dam (the USGS terms it, Hartwick Dam) impounds Template:Convert Lake Delhi downriver from Manchester in Delaware County.<ref>Template:Gnis, Retrieved July 18, 2007</ref><ref>Iowa DNR, Retrieved July 18, 2007 Template:Webarchive</ref> On Saturday July 24, 2010, the dam at Lake Delhi failed due to heavy rains and the rapid rise of the Maquoketa River.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The dam has since been reconstructed.
• The Mon-Maq dam in Jones County just east of Monticello was once used to generate power for the town and is now a candidate for dam removal<ref>Dam Removal Study & Local Floodplain Master Planning (Floodplain Management Services, Iowa)Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, 2014-Aug-21.</ref>
• The Backbone Lake dam in Backbone State Park.
• The Lakehurst dam at Maquoketa.

Recreation

The stretch of river from just below the Mon-Maq dam to Iowa Highway 136 is one of Iowa's most popular canoe trips.<ref>Nate Hoogveen, Maquoketa River 3, Paddling Iowa, 2nd ed, Trails Books, Madison, 2006; page 90-91. Includes map.</ref> Along much of this stretch, the river flows through a canyon bounded by steep cliffs of Silurian dolomite. Large tracts of surrounding land are open to the public, including the Pictured Rocks Wildlife Management Area (1,138 acres, cooperatively managed by Jones County and the Iowa DNR,<ref>Pictured Rocks Wildlife Management Area, mycountyparks.com, retrieved Feb. 15, 2017.</ref> and the Indian Bluffs Primitive Area State Preserve (845 acres, privately owned, managed by the Iowa DNR).<ref>Ruth Herzberg and John Pearson, Indian Bluffs Primitive Area State Preserve, The Guide to Iowa's State Preserves, University of Iowa Press, 2001; page 75.</ref> The canyon walls in Pictured Rocks make it one of the most popular rock climbing areas in Eastern Iowa, with numerous routs and pre-set anchors for climbing ropes; the highest rock face is 75 feet (23m).<ref>Pictured Rocks Rock Climbing, the Mountain Project, retrieved Feb. 15, 2017.</ref>

Maquoketa Caves State Park, a few miles upstream from Maquoketa protects a segment of the Driftless Area's karst topography, characterized by caves, ice caves and sinkholes.

Major events

In 1944, the river flooded with a historic discharge of 48,000 cubic feet per second.<ref name="Notes-Iowa-Ep36">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> Several of the Maquoketa Caves were inundated with the water carving holes up to eight feet deep and damaging the lighting system. Repairs were complete over several years when the park opened again in 1949.Template:Citation needed

See also

• List of rivers of Iowa

External links

• Template:Gnis
• Univ. of Iowa: Bass on the Maquoketa
• Smallmouth bass Retrieved July 18, 2007
• Backbone State Park website