The Otter Tail River (

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

: ''Nigigwaanowe-ziibi'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed June 8, 2011

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. It begins in Becker County, southwest of

Bemidji Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,946, makin ...

. It then flows through a number of

lakes A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

and cities in Minnesota, including Many Point Lake, Chippewa Lake, Height of Land Lake, Frazee, the Pine lakes, Rush Lake,

Otter Tail Lake Otter Tail Lake is a lake in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the largest lake in Otter Tail County. Geography Adjoining the city of Ottertail, Minnesota, Ottertail, it is a part of the Otter Tail River chain of la ...

and Ottertail, West Lost Lake,

Fergus Falls Fergus Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,119 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 14,258 in 2024. History The falls from which the city gets part of its n ...

, and Orwell Lake. Ottertailrivermap

At its mouth, it joins with the

Bois de Sioux River The Bois de Sioux River ( ) drains Lake Traverse, the southernmost body of water in the Hudson Bay watershed of North America. It is a tributary of the Red River of the North and defines part of the western border of the U.S. state of Minnesota ...

to form the Red River between

Breckenridge, Minnesota Breckenridge is a city and county seat of Wilkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,430 at the 2020 census. Breckenridge's twin city is Wahpeton, North Dakota. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND—MN Micropolitan Statistic ...

and

Wahpeton, North Dakota Wahpeton ( ) is a city in Richland County, in southeast North Dakota along the Bois de Sioux River at its confluence with the Otter Tail River, which forms the Red River of the North. Wahpeton is the county seat of Richland County. The populat ...

. The Red River is the Minnesota–

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

boundary from this point onward to the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

. Waters of the Red River

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

ultimately flow north into

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

. Between 1909 and 1925, the privately owned

Otter Tail Power Company Otter Tail Corporation is an electric power and manufacturing company based in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Its subsidiaries include Otter Tail Power Company, BTD Manufacturing Inc., T.O. Plastics Inc., Northern Pipe Products Inc., and Vinyltech Cor ...

built five dams on the Otter Tail River. They are Dayton Hollow (1909), Hoot Lake (1914), Pisgah (1918), Central / Wright (built 1871, rebuilt 1922), and Taplin Gorge (1925). The Otter Tail River is the third longest river totally within the state of Minnesota and the ninth longest river that flows for some portion through the state.

Gallery

Taplin George Dam.jpeg, Taplin George Dam Phelpsmill ottertailcounty.jpg,

Phelps Mill Phelps Mill is a flour mill in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States, on the Otter Tail River. The mill was built in 1888–1889 by William E. Thomas, a local entrepreneur who owned a flour and feed business in Fergus Falls. During that ...

Phelps Mill Bridge, Minnesota (37745533496).jpg, Phelps Mill Bridge Otter Tail River dam - Fergus Falls 01.jpg, Otter Tail River dam Otter Tail River and Water tower, Breckenridge, MN.jpg, River and Water tower Homer Dodge Martin, Old Crossing, Otter Tail River, 1871, NGA 57031.jpg, Homer Dodge Martin, Old Crossing, Otter Tail River, 1871 OtterTailLakeRiverInlet.jpg, River Inlet

References

Minnesota Shoreland Management Resource Guide
Rivers of Minnesota Rivers of Clearwater County, Minnesota Rivers of Becker County, Minnesota Rivers of Otter Tail County, Minnesota Tributaries of the Red River of the North Minnesota placenames of Native American origin {{Minnesota-river-stub

Gallery

See also

References