Watonwan River
| Watonwan River | |
|---|---|
The Watonwan River in Garden City in 2007 | |
Map of the Blue Earth River watershed showing the Watonwan River | |
| Etymology | Dakota watanwan meaning "fish bait" or "plenty of fish" |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Minnesota |
| Counties | Cottonwood, Watonwan, Blue Earth |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Amboy Township, Cottonwood County |
| • coordinates | 44°01′30″N 95°13′12″W / 44.02500°N 95.22000°W |
| • elevation | 1,529 ft (466 m) |
| Mouth | Blue Earth River |
• location | Rapidan Township, Blue Earth County |
• coordinates | 44°04′13″N 94°07′35″W / 44.07028°N 94.12639°W |
• elevation | 879 ft (268 m) |
| Length | 113.2 mi (182.2 km) |
| Basin size | 878 mi2 (2,270 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | near Garden City |
| • average | 391 cu ft/s (11.1 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 1.8 cu ft/s (0.051 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 13,900 cu ft/s (390 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | North Fork Watonwan River |
| • right | South Fork Watonwan River |
The Watonwan River is a tributary of the Blue Earth River, 113 miles (182 km) long, in southern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Blue Earth and Minnesota rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 878 square miles (2,270 km2) in an agricultural region. The Watonwan drains about a quarter of the Blue Earth River's watershed.
The river was the site of the capture of Bob, Cole and Jim Younger (members of the James–Younger Gang) near Madelia in 1876.