Otter Tail River

The Otter Tail River (Ojibwe: Nigigwaanowe-ziibi) is a 192-mile-long (309 km)[3] river in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It begins in Becker County, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Bemidji. It then flows through a number of lakes and cities in Minnesota, including Many Point Lake, Chippewa Lake, Height of Land Lake, Frazee, the Pine lakes, Rush Lake, Otter Tail Lake and Ottertail, West Lost Lake, Fergus Falls, and Orwell Lake.[2]

The Red River drainage basin, with the Otter Tail River highlighted

Otter Tail River
Sunset on the Otter Tail River near Otter Tail Lake and Ottertail, Minnesota
Mouth of the Otter Tail River
Native name	Nigigwaanowe-ziibi (Ojibwe)
Location
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Counties	Wilkin, Otter Tail, Becker
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Round Lake
• coordinates	47°01′39″N 95°32′40″W
• elevation	1,494 feet (455 m)[1]
Mouth	Red River of the North
• coordinates	46°15′51″N 96°35′52″W
• elevation	951 feet (290 m)[2]
Length	192 mi-long (309 km)

At its mouth, it joins with the Bois de Sioux River to form the Red River between Breckenridge, Minnesota and Wahpeton, North Dakota.[4] The Red River is the Minnesota–North Dakota boundary from this point onward to the Canada–United States border. Waters of the Red River watershed ultimately flow north into Hudson Bay.[5]

Between 1909 and 1925, the privately owned Otter Tail Power Company built five dams on the Otter Tail River. They are Dayton Hollow (1909), Hoot Lake (1914), Pisgah (1918), Central / Wright (built 1871, rebuilt 1922), and Taplin Gorge (1925).

The Otter Tail River is the third longest river totally within the state of Minnesota and the ninth longest river that flows for some portion through the state.