Late fall colors along the Platte River at Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

The Platte River is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

in central

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed November 29, 2012 Platte is a name derived from the French meaning "flat".

Course

The Platte flows from Platte Lake in southeastern

Crow Wing County Crow Wing County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,123. Its county seat is Brainerd. The county was formed in 1857, and was organized in 1870. Crow Wing County i ...

, flows through Lake Sullivan, and Round Lake, and follows a generally southwestward course through eastern Morrison County, through the towns of Harding and Royalton. It flows into the Mississippi River in Benton County, about south of Royalton. The Platte's largest tributary is the

Skunk River Skunk River may refer to: * Skunk River (Iowa), river in Iowa * Skunk River (Platte River), river in Minnesota {{dis ...

, which joins it in Morrison County.

Course

See also

References

Further reading