Minnehaha Creek | |
Name Native: | |
Source1 Location: | Lake Minnetonka |
Source1 Coordinates: | 44.9544°N -93.4861°W |
Mouth Location: | Mississippi River |
Mouth Coordinates: | 44.9089°N -93.2005°W |
Subdivision Type1: | Country |
Subdivision Name1: | United States |
Subdivision Type2: | State |
Subdivision Name2: | Minnesota |
Subdivision Type3: | Region |
Subdivision Name3: | Minneapolis, Edina, Hopkins, and Minnetonka |
Name Etymology: | waterfall or rapid water, for its journey over Minnehaha Falls |
Length: | 22miles |
Source1 Elevation: | 686feet |
Basin Size: | 181sqmi |
River System: | Mississippi River at Minneapolis |
Tributaries Right: | brief stream originating at Lake Pamela |
Custom Label: | GNIS |
Custom Data: | 647923 |
Minnehaha Creek (Dakota: '''Mniȟáȟa Wakpádaŋ''') is a 22-mile-long (35 km) tributary of the Mississippi River that flows east from Gray's Bay Dam on Lake Minnetonka[1] through the suburban cities of Minnetonka, Hopkins, Saint Louis Park, and Edina, and the city of Minneapolis. The creek flows over Minnehaha Falls in Minnehaha Park near its mouth at the Mississippi River.
As with much of the Midwest, the area around the creek and Lake Minnetonka was originally inhabited by a native culture affiliated with the Mound Builders, but by the 1700s was occupied by the Mdewakanton People, a sub-tribe of the Dakota. The first Euro-Americans whose expedition to the area was documented were Joe Brown and Will Snelling, who canoed up the creek from Fort Snelling.[2]
The creek's watershed covers 181 square miles (470 km2), including the basin of Lake Minnetonka, and is managed by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District.[3]