| Zumbro River | |
| Name Other: | Rivière des Embarras |
| Pushpin Map: | Minnesota |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Mouth of the Zumbro River |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Minnesota |
| Subdivision Type3: | Counties |
| Subdivision Name3: | Olmsted, Wabasha |
| Source1 Location: | Zumbro Lake |
| Mouth Location: | Alma City, Minnesota |
| River System: | Upper Mississippi River |
| Tributaries Left: | North Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River, North Fork Zumbro River, Spring Creek, Trout Brook[1] |
| Tributaries Right: | Fry Slough, Long Creek, Middle Creek, Middle Fork Zumbro River, Pine Slough, Silver Spring Creek, South Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River, South Fork Zumbro River, West Indian Creek |
| Waterbodies: | Zumbro Lake |
The Zumbro River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is long[2] from the confluence of its principal tributaries and drains a watershed of . The river's name in English is a change from its French name Rivière des Embarras ("Obstruction River") due to its mouth near Pine Island in the Mississippi River; the pronunciation changed from pronounced as /fr/ to . The Dakota name for this river is Wapka Wazi Oju (Pines Planted River), having reference to the grove of great white pines at Pine Island.[3]
The Zumbro rises as three forks:
The South Fork Zumbro River, long,[2] rises about 2miles east of Hayfield in southern Dodge County and flows generally eastwardly into Olmsted County, where it turns northward at Rochester and flows into southwestern Wabasha County. The South Fork's course through Rochester has been channelized as part of a flood control project. It is dammed in Wabasha County, by the Lake Zumbro Hydroelectric Generating Plant to form Lake Zumbro.
At Rochester, the river measures approximately 153 cubic feet per second.[4]
The Middle Fork Zumbro River, long,[2] rises in northeastern Steele County, about 8miles west of West Concord and flows generally eastwardly through northern Dodge, southwestern Goodhue and northeastern Olmsted counties, past Pine Island and Oronoco. At Pine Island it collects the North Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River, which rises in southwestern Goodhue County and flows eastwardly through southern Goodhue and northern Dodge counties. At Oronoco it collects the South Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River, which rises in eastern Steele County and flows eastwardly into Dodge County, past Mantorville. The Middle Fork meets the South Fork in north-central Olmsted County as part of Zumbro Lake.
The North Fork Zumbro River, long,[2] rises southeast of Faribault in southeastern Rice County and flows eastwardly through southern Goodhue and southwestern Wabasha counties, past Kenyon, Wanamingo, Zumbrota and Mazeppa.
The North and South forks join about 4miles east of Mazeppa in southwestern Wabasha County, and the Zumbro River flows eastwardly through Wabasha County, through the Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest and past Zumbro Falls, Hammond, Millville and Kellogg. It flows into the Mississippi River about 4miles east of Kellogg. At this town, the river measures approximately 880 cubic feet per second.
Some species of fish that can be found in the Zumbro River near Rochester include the green sunfish; rock, smallmouth and largemouth bass; the common carp, creek chub, channel catfish, and northern pike.