The Schoolcraft River is a tributary 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 ...

, approximately 30 mi (48 km) long, in northern

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 ...

. Although short, it is considered as the first major tributary of the Mississippi, since it is the first river that joins the Mississippi below its source that is nearly the same size as the Mississippi itself. The river is named after

Henry Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi ...

, who mapped the region and discovered nearby

Lake Itasca Lake Itasca ( ) is a small glacial lake, approximately in area. It is located in Itasca State Park, in south-eastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north-central Minnesota, and is notable for being the headwater of the Mississip ...

as the source of the Mississippi in 1831. Its name in the

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 ...

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

is ''Ozaawindibe-ziibi'' (Yellow-head River), named after Ozaawindib who guided Schoolcraft to the nearby ''Omashkoozo-zaaga'igan'' (Elk Lake), which Schoolcraft then named

. Prior to being named for these early explorers it had been called the "Naiwa River" It rises in Schoolcraft Lake, in central Hubbard County just south of Lake George. It flows NNE through

Paul Bunyan State Forest The Paul Bunyan State Forest is a state forest located in Hubbard and Cass counties in Minnesota. The forest borders the Chippewa National Forest and the Welsh Lake State Forest to the east, and the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest to th ...

and through Lake Plantagenet . It joins the Mississippi just south 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 ...

, just before the Mississippi enters

Lake Bemidji Lake Bemidji is a small glacier, glacially-formed lake, approximately in area, in northern Minnesota in the United States. Located less than downstream from the source of the Mississippi River, it both receives and is drained by the Mississippi, ...

. The river is a popular destination for recreational

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

ing, and for recreation fishing of

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

References

{{authority control Rivers of Minnesota Tributaries of the Mississippi River Rivers of Hubbard County, Minnesota Rivers of Beltrami County, Minnesota

See also

References