| Straight River | |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Minnesota |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of the Straight River |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Minnesota |
| Subdivision Type3: | Counties |
| Subdivision Name3: | Becker County, Hubbard County |
| Length: | 22.7miles[1] |
| Discharge1 Location: | near Park Rapids |
| Discharge1 Min: | 21cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 60.8cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Max: | 149cuft/s |
| Source1 Location: | Pine Point Township, Becker County |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 47.0022°N -95.3094°W[2] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 1506feet[3] |
| Mouth: | Fish Hook River |
| Mouth Location: | Hubbard Township, Hubbard County |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 46.8689°N -95.0319°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1384feet |
| Basin Size: | 60sqmiapprox.[4] |
The Straight River is a tributary of the Fish Hook River, 23miles long, in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Via the Fish Hook, Shell, and Crow Wing Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of approximately 60mi2 in a rural region. The river is known as one of Minnesota's best trout fishing streams.[5] [6]
The river's name is a translation of the Ojibwe name for Straight Lake,[7] through which the river flows near its source.[8]
The Straight River rises in the White Earth Indian Reservation and Two Inlets State Forest, approximately 6miles northeast of Pine Point in Pine Point Township in northeastern Becker County. It flows initially southeastwardly, passing through Straight Lake, then east-southeastwardly into southwestern Hubbard County. It flows into the Fish Hook River in Hubbard Township, approximately 4miles south of Park Rapids.[8] The river flows in the Northern Lakes and Forests ecoregion, which is characterized by conifer and hardwood forests on flat and rolling till plains and outwash plains.[9]
The Straight River is fed by springs which provide water cold enough to support an abundant trout population, and is known in sport fishing for catches of brown trout exceeding 20inches in length. The river formerly supported a population of brook trout which declined due to rising water temperatures. In the early 1990s a group of organizations including Trout Unlimited sued the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, seeking heightened protection of the Straight River; the department has since begun scrutinizing the irrigation activities of agricultural operations in the river's watershed, which may threaten the springs feeding cold water to the river.[5] [10]
At the United States Geological Survey's stream gauge in Straight River Township near Park Rapids, the annual mean flow of the river between 1987 and 2005 was 60.8ft3 per second. The highest recorded flow during the period was 149ft3 per second on April 6, 1997. The lowest recorded flow was 21ft3 per second on November 23, 2003.[4]