Yellow Bank River
| Yellow Bank River | |
|---|---|
The Yellow Bank River in the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge in 2007 | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | South Dakota, Minnesota |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | North Fork Yellow Bank River |
| • location | Round Lake, Coteau des Prairies, Codington County, South Dakota |
| • coordinates | 45°06′57″N 96°55′00″W / 45.11583°N 96.91667°W |
| • elevation | 1,838 ft (560 m) |
| 2nd source | South Fork Yellow Bank River |
| • location | Coteau des Prairies, Deuel County, South Dakota |
| • coordinates | 44°58′17″N 96°48′09″W / 44.97139°N 96.80250°W |
| • elevation | 1,849 ft (564 m) |
| Source confluence | |
| • location | Yellow Bank Township, Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota |
| • coordinates | 45°10′47″N 96°21′29″W / 45.17972°N 96.35806°W |
| • elevation | 991 ft (302 m) |
| Mouth | Minnesota River |
• location | Agassiz Township, Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota |
• coordinates | 45°14′12″N 96°17′11″W / 45.23667°N 96.28639°W |
• elevation | 938 ft (286 m) |
| Length | 12.0 mi (19.3 km) |
| Basin size | 460 sq mi (1,200 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Agassiz Township |
| • average | 69.3 cu ft/s (1.96 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 6,940 cu ft/s (197 m3/s) |
The Yellow Bank River is a 12.0-mile-long (19.3 km) tributary of the Minnesota River in western Minnesota in the United States. It is formed by the confluence of two longer streams, the North Fork Yellow Bank River and the South Fork Yellow Bank River, which also flow in northeastern South Dakota. Via the Minnesota River, the Yellow Bank River is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of approximately 460 square miles (1,200 km2) in an agricultural region.
The river was named for yellowish glacial drift in bluffs along the river. Its name was translated from the Sioux language as "Spirit Mountain Creek" by William Keating in his account of Stephen Harriman Long's expedition to the region in 1823. It was labelled as "Yellow Earth River" on an 1860 map of Minnesota.