Fort Towson

The Rock River is a tributary of the Big Sioux River, about 144 miles (232 km) long,^[3] in southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa in the United States. Via the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The river's name comes from a prominent rocky outcrop about 175 feet high (designated "The Rock" on Joseph Nicollet's 1843 map of the area) of reddish-gray Sioux Quartzite, about 3 miles (5 km) north of Luverne.^[4] The outcrop of quartzite is contained in Minnesota's Blue Mounds State Park.

Course

The Rock River starts in Pipestone County, Minnesota, approximately 13 miles (21 km) northeast of the town of Pipestone, and flows initially southwardly through Rock County, Minnesota, and Lyon County, Iowa, where it turns southwestward into Sioux County, Iowa. It flows into the Big Sioux River in Sioux County, 6 miles (10 km) north of Hawarden.

Along its course the Rock River passes the towns of Holland, Edgerton, Luverne and Ash Creek in Minnesota; and the towns of Rock Rapids, Doon and Rock Valley in Iowa.

Tributaries

In its upper course in Minnesota, the river collects the East Branch Rock River, about 15 miles (24 km) long, which flows for its entire length in Pipestone County. In Iowa, it collects the Little Rock River just south of Doon.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rock River (Big Sioux River tributary)
^ "Water Data". USGS.
^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 30, 2011
^ Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 466. Retrieved 30 November 2019.

Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
DeLorme (1998). Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-214-5.
DeLorme (1994). Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-222-6.
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rock River
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: East Branch Rock River
Waters, Thomas F. (1977). The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-0960-8.

[gnis-1] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rock River (Big Sioux River tributary)

[2] "Water Data". USGS.

[NHD-3] U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 30, 2011

[4] Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 466. Retrieved 30 November 2019.

[3]

[4]

Minnesota tributaries of the Upper Mississippi River below St Anthony Falls
Minnesota River	Little Minnesota River Pomme de Terre River Lac qui Parle River Chippewa River Yellow Medicine River Redwood River Cottonwood River Blue Earth River
St. Croix River	Kettle River Snake River
Cannon River	North Cannon River Little Cannon River Straight River Little Cannon River (Sabre Lake) Belle Creek
Zumbro River	North Fork Zumbro River Middle Fork Zumbro River North Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River South Branch Middle Fork Zumbro River South Fork Zumbro River
Whitewater River	North Fork Whitewater River Middle Fork Whitewater River South Fork Whitewater River
Root River	South Fork Root River Badger Creek South Branch Root River Camp Creek North Branch Root River Middle Branch Root River Rush Creek Pine Creek Coolridge Creek Hemingway Creek
Upper Iowa River (Iowa, Minnesota)	Pine Creek Little Iowa River North Branch Upper Iowa River
Iowa River (Iowa)	Cedar River Shell Rock River Winnebago River (Iowa) Lime Creek Little Cedar River (Iowa and Minnesota) Little Cedar River (Dodge County, Minnesota)
Des Moines River (Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri)	East Fork Des Moines River Heron Lake Outlet Jack Creek Diversion Creek Okabena Creek Lime Creek Beaver Creek
Missouri River (Missouri, Iowa)	Little Sioux River Ocheyedan River West Fork Little Sioux River Big Sioux River (Iowa) Rock River Little Rock River East Branch Rock River Split Rock Creek Pipestone Creek Flandreau Creek
Other rivers and streams	Crooked Creek North Fork Crooked Creek South Fork Crooked Creek Hay Creek Pine Creek Vermillion River South Branch Vermillion River Wapsipinicon River Wells Creek Winnebago Creek
Streams by region	Driftless Area Counties Dakota Dodge Fillmore Goodhue Houston Mower Olmsted Rice Wabasha Winona
See also: List of rivers of Minnesota, North Shore Streams, Wisconsin rivers, Iowa rivers, North Dakota rivers

Course

Tributaries

See also

References