View source for Des Moines River

{{short description|River in Iowa, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Des Moines River
| name_native        = 
| name_native_lang   = 
| name_other         = 
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Des Moines River.jpg
| image_caption      = The Des Moines River upstream of [[Ottumwa, Iowa]]
| map                = Desmoinesrivermap.png
| map_size           = 
| map_caption        = The Des Moines River watershed
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_map_size   = 
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| mapframe           = yes
| mapframe-zoom      = 5
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = [[United States]]
| subdivision_type2  = State
| subdivision_name2  = [[Iowa]], [[Minnesota]], [[Missouri]]
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| subdivision_type5  = 
| subdivision_name5  = 
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|525|mi|km|abbr=on}} 
| width_min          = 
| width_avg          = 
| width_max          = 
| depth_min          = 
| depth_avg          = 
| depth_max          = 
| discharge1_location= [[St. Francisville, MO]]
| discharge1_min     = 
| discharge1_avg     = 13,223 cu/ft. per sec.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/annual/?format=sites_selection_links&search_site_no=05490600&agency_cd=USGS&amp;referred_module=sw|title = USGS Surface Water data for Missouri: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics}}</ref>
| discharge1_max     = 
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = Lake Shetek
| source1_location   = Murray County, Minnesota
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|44.0839|-95.6881|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|1483|ft|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [[Mississippi River]]
| mouth_location     = [[Clark County, Missouri]] / [[Lee County, Iowa]], near [[Keokuk, Iowa]]
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|40.3812|-91.4224|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = {{convert|597|ft|abbr=on}}
| progression        = 
| river_system       = 
| basin_size         = {{cvt|14802|sqmi}}
| tributaries_left   = 
| tributaries_right  = 
| custom_label       = 
| custom_data        = 
| extra              = {{GNIS|465582}}
}}

The '''Des Moines River''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=DesMoines.ogg|d|ə|ˈ|m|ɔɪ|n}}) is a [[tributary]] of the [[Mississippi River]] in the upper [[Midwestern United States]] that is approximately {{convert|525|mi}} long from its farther headwaters.<ref name=NHD>U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329155652/http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ |date=2012-03-29 }}, accessed May 26, 2011</ref> The largest river flowing across the state of [[Iowa]], it rises in southern [[Minnesota]] and flows across Iowa from northwest to southeast, passing from the [[glacier|glaciated]] plains into the unglaciated hills, transitioning near the capital city of [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]] in the center of the state. The river continues to flow in a southeastern direction away from Des Moines, flowing directly into the Mississippi River. The Des Moines River forms a short portion of Iowa's border with [[Missouri]] between [[Lee County, Iowa]] and [[Clark County, Missouri]].

The city of Des Moines, Iowa, was named for the river.

==Hydrography==
In Minnesota, the upper forks of the Des Moines River drain the plateau and moraines between the [[Coteau des Prairies]] to the west, which is drained by the [[Big Sioux River]], and the lower lands to the east which drain northward into the [[Blue Earth River|Blue Earth]] and [[Minnesota River|Minnesota Rivers]].

The Des Moines River rises in two forks. The '''West Fork''' (the main branch) rises out of the wetlands surrounding [[Lake Yankton]] and Long Lake in [[Lyon County, Minnesota|Lyon County]] in southwestern Minnesota.  The small stream flows southwest into [[Lake Shetek]], then through [[Windom, Minnesota|Windom]] and [[Jackson, Minnesota]], and near [[Estherville, Iowa|Estherville]], Iowa. The '''East Fork''' rises out in rural Martin County, Minnesota, just north of [[Interstate 90 in Minnesota|Interstate 90]].  It then flows through [[Okamanpeedan Lake]] on the Iowa-Minnesota border, then south, through [[Algona, Iowa|Algona]]. The two forks join in southern [[Humboldt County, Iowa|Humboldt County]], approximately 5 miles (8&nbsp;km) south of [[Humboldt, Iowa|Humboldt]] at [[Frank Gotch]] [[State Park]].

The combined stream flows roughly southward through [[Fort Dodge, Iowa|Fort Dodge]]. South of [[Boone, Iowa|Boone]] it passes through the [[Ledges State Park]]. It flows through downtown Des Moines, then turns generally southeastward, flowing through [[Ottumwa, Iowa|Ottumwa]]. It forms approximately 20 miles (32&nbsp;km) of the border between Iowa and Missouri before joining the Mississippi from the northwest at [[Keokuk, Iowa|Keokuk]].

It receives the [[Boone River]] from the northeast approximately 20 miles (32&nbsp;km) southwest of Fort Dodge. It receives the [[Raccoon River (Iowa)|Raccoon River]] from the west in the city of Des Moines. Above the city of Des Moines, it is impounded to create the [[Saylorville Lake]] reservoir. About midway below Saylorville and above Ottumwa, near [[Pella, Iowa|Pella]], the river is impounded to create the [[Lake Red Rock (Des Moines River)|Lake Red Rock]] reservoir.

==History==
[[Image:Iowa 1718.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The Des Moines as it was depicted in 1718 by [[Guillaume Delisle]]; modern Iowa highlighted.]] One of the earliest French maps that depicts the Des Moines (1703) refers to it as "''R. des Otentas''", which translates to "River of the Otoe"; the [[Otoe Tribe]] lived in the interior of Iowa in the 18th century.<ref>Lahontan, Louis Armand de Lom d'Arce (1703) ''Carte de la Riviere Longue: et de Quelques Autres, qui se Dechargent dans le Grand Fleuve de Mississippi''. La Haye, Netherlands. On file, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington.</ref> The [[Meskwaki]] and [[Sauk people]] referred to the river as "''Ke-o-shaw-qua''" (Hermit's River), from which [[Keosauqua, Iowa]], derives its name.<ref>[[Isaac Galland]], 1840, ''Galland's Iowa Emigrant: containing a map, and general descriptions of Iowa'', pp. 6-7.</ref> The [[Dakota Indians]], who lived near its headwaters in present-day Minnesota, referred to it as "''Inyan Shasha''" in their [[Siouan language]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nicollet|first1=J. N.|title=Hydrographical Basin of the Mississippi River (map)|date=1843|publisher=U. S. War Department|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/78692260}}</ref> Another [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] name was "''Eah-sha-wa-pa-ta,''" or "Red Stone" river,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pratt|first1=H.M.|title=History of Fort Dodge and Webster County, Iowa|date=1913|publisher=Pioneer Press|location=Chicago|page=33}}</ref> possibly referring to the bluffs at [[Lake Red Rock (Des Moines River)|Red Rock]] or the reddish [[Sioux Quartzite]] bedrock near its headwaters.

The origin of the name ''Des Moines'' is obscure. Early [[France|French]] explorers named it ''La Rivière des Moines'', literally meaning "River of the Monks". The name may have referred to early [[Trappist]] monks who built huts near the mouth of the river at the Mississippi.{{Citation needed|date=October 2018}}

[[William Bright]] writes that ''Moines'' was an abbreviation used by the French for ''Moingouena'' or ''[[Moingona]]'', an [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] subgroup of the [[Illinois Confederation|Illinois people]]. The [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] term was ''/mooyiinkweena/'', a derogatory name applied to the Moingouena by the [[Peoria people]], a closely related subgroup. The meaning of the native word, according to an early French writer, is ''visage plein d'ordure'', or in plain English, "shit-face", from ''mooy-'', "shit", ''-iinkwee'', "face", and ''-na'', "indefinite actor".<ref name="Bright2004">{{cite book|last=Bright|first=William|author-link=William Bright|title=Native American Placenames of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&pg=PA135|access-date=26 October 2018|year=2004|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3598-4|pages=135, 293}}</ref>

The 1718 [[Guillaume Delisle]] map (pictured) labels it as ''"le Moingona R."''

During the mid-19th century, the river supported the main commercial transportation by water across Iowa. River traffic began to be superseded by the [[railroad]]s constructed from the 1860s.

[[Image:Des Moines River in Des Moines.jpg|thumb|The Des Moines River, as it flows through downtown [[Des Moines]], west bank, during spring high water; note the old watermarks on the [[flood wall]].]]

==Flooding==
[[File:Flood at Fort Des Moines in 1851 - History of Iowa.jpg|thumb|Flood of [[Des Moines]], 1851]]
Catastrophic flooding occurred along the Des Moines River during the [[Flood of 1851|Great Flood of 1851]], nearly destroying the new town of [[Des Moines]]. Residents had never previously experienced a major flood, and river towns lacked levees and substantial bridges that could withstand flooding. In 1851, 74.5 in (191.5&nbsp;cm) of rain fell in Iowa, a record that holds to this day. The worst flooding occurred May to June in the Des Moines River Basin.<ref>The great flood (of 1851), http://lucascountyan.blogspot.com/2010/07/great-flood-of-1851.html</ref><ref>The Flood of 1851,  ''The Palimpsest''  1934 15(6) http://iagenweb.org/history/palimpsest/1934-Jun1.htm</ref><ref name=hussey>{{cite journal |last=Hussey |first=Tacitus |title=The Flood of 1851 |journal=Annals of Iowa |year=1902 |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=401–424 |doi=10.17077/0003-4827.2797 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Major flooding in 1851 occurred in [[Bentonsport, Iowa|Bentonsport]], [[Croton, Iowa|Croton]], [[Bonaparte, Iowa|Bonaparte]], [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]], [[Eddyville, Iowa|Eddyville]], [[Farmington, Iowa|Farmington]], [[Iowaville, Iowa|Iowaville]], [[Keosauqua, Iowa|Keosauqua]], [[Muscatine, Iowa|Muscatine]], [[Oskaloosa, Iowa|Oskaloosa]], [[Ottumwa, Iowa|Ottumwa]] and [[Rochester, Iowa|Rochester]].

The river has a history of seasonal flooding. For example, in May 1944 the Riverview Park had just opened for the season on May 19, 1944. At around dawn on May 23, the [[levee]] began to collapse. The river was too much to hold back. Quickly the breach in the levee grew to nearly {{convert|100|ft|m}} wide, and the river water quickly enveloped all of the park and the surrounding area.<ref>[http://webpages.charter.net/bwkooker/flood.html Riverview Park Flood] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617174308/http://webpages.charter.net/bwkooker/flood.html |date=2008-06-17 }}</ref>

The [[Great Flood of 1993]] on the river and its tributary the Raccoon, in the summer of 1993, forced the evacuation of much of the city of Des Moines and nearby communities.

==Cities and towns==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Algona, Iowa]] (East Fork)
*[[Armstrong, Iowa]] (East Fork)
*[[Bonaparte, Iowa]]
*[[Bradgate, Iowa]] (West Fork)
*[[Chillicothe, Iowa]]
*[[Currie, Minnesota]]
*[[Dakota City, Iowa]] (East Fork)
*[[Des Moines, Iowa]]
*[[Douds, Iowa]]
*[[Eddyville, Iowa]]
*[[Eldon, Iowa]]
*[[Emmetsburg, Iowa]] (West Fork)
*[[Estherville, Iowa]] (West Fork)
*[[Farmington, Iowa]]
*[[Fort Dodge, Iowa]]
*[[Fraser, Iowa]]
*[[Graettinger, Iowa]] (West Fork)
*[[Humboldt, Iowa]] (West Fork)
*[[Irvington, Iowa]] (East Fork) 
*[[Jackson, Minnesota]]
*[[Johnston, Iowa]]
*[[Keokuk, Iowa]]
*[[Keosauqua, Iowa]]
*[[Leando, Iowa]]
*[[Lehigh, Iowa]]
*[[Livermore, Iowa]] (East Fork)
*[[Ottumwa, Iowa]]
*[[Petersburg, Minnesota]] (West Fork)
*[[Rutland, Iowa]] (West Fork)
*[[St. Joseph, Iowa]] (East Fork)
*[[Windom, Minnesota]]
[[File:RRbridgeDesMoinesRiver.jpg|right|thumb|A railroad bridge on the Des Moines River near its mouth]]
{{div col end}}

==Variant names==
According to the [[Geographic Names Information System]], the Des Moines River has also been known as:
*La Riviere des Moins
*Le Moine River
*Monk River
*Nadouessioux River
*Outontantes River
*River Demoin
*River of the Maskoutens
*River of the Peouareas

==See also==
*[[List of Iowa rivers]]
*[[List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem)]]
*[[List of Minnesota rivers]]
*[[List of longest streams of Minnesota]]
*[[List of Missouri rivers]]
*[[Illinois Country]]
*[[French colonization of the Americas]]

==References and notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{NIE Poster}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040604204310/http://www.ci.des-moines.ia.us/departments/AC/Information/AChistoricalinfo.htm Des Moines History]
*[http://www.desmoinesriver.org/ DesMoinesRiver.org]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040423044536/http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/PublicAffairsOffice/iowawaterresources/desmoinesriverbasin.html U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Des Moines River Basin]

{{Des Moines}}
{{authority control}}

<!--"0" IS USED TO GROUP WIKIARTICLES FOR FREMONT'S MAPPING PRIOR TO HIS EXPEDITIONS-->

[[Category:Des Moines River|*]]
[[Category:Rivers of Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Minnesota]]
[[Category:Rivers of Missouri]]
[[Category:Tributaries of the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Borders of Iowa]]
[[Category:Borders of Missouri]]
[[Category:Rivers of Cottonwood County, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Rivers of Lee County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Monroe County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Murray County, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Rivers of Emmet County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Kossuth County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Humboldt County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Webster County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Boone County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Wapello County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Rivers of Clark County, Missouri]]
[[Category:Rivers of Palo Alto County, Iowa]]