Plum Creek (Cottonwood River tributary)

Plum Creek[1] is a 35.4-mile-long (57.0 km)[2] stream near the city of Walnut Grove, Minnesota. It passes to the northwest of the town, flowing northeasterly to the Cottonwood River, with its waters then flowing to the Minnesota River and eventually the Mississippi River. Plum Creek lends its name to a regional library network.

Plum Creek
Ingalls Family Dugout Site on the banks of Plum Creek
Plum Creek (Cottonwood River tributary) is located in Minnesota
Plum Creek (Cottonwood River tributary)
Plum Creek runs northwest from Walnut Grove
Etymologywild plum (Prunus americana)
Native nameKaŋtaota (Dakota)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountyRedwood, Murray
Physical characteristics
Source 
  coordinates44.1757923°N 95.6022311°W / 44.1757923; -95.6022311
Mouth 
  location
Cottonwood River
  coordinates
44.2492°N 95.4639°W / 44.2492; -95.4639
Length35.4 mi (57.0 km)
Basin features
ProgressionCottonwood→ Minnesota→ Mississippi→ Gulf of Mexico
River systemMinnesota River

History

Plum Creek was so named on account of the wild plum (Prunus americana) trees along its course.[3] It was known to the native Sioux as Kaŋ-ta-'o-ta ("plenty of plums").[4]

It is known for being close to the homestead of the Ingalls family of Little House on the Prairie fame, and features in the book On the Banks of Plum Creek. It is also mentioned in the sixth Little House on the Prairie book.

See also

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Plum Creek (Cottonwood River tributary)
  2. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed October 5, 2012
  3. Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 454.
  4. "On the Ethnography and Philology of the Indian Tribes of the Missouri Valley: With a Map and Plates". The Society. July 14, 1862 via Google Books.


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