Souris River

The Souris River (/ˈsʊərɪs/; French: rivière Souris) or Mouse River (as it is alternatively known in the U.S., a calque of its French name) is a river in central North America. Approximately 435 miles (700 km) in length, it drains about 23,600 square miles (61,100 km2) in Canada and the United States.

"Souris Valley" redirects here. For the rural municipality in Saskatchewan, see Rural Municipality of Souris Valley No. 7.
Souris River
Mouse River, Rivière Souris
The river in the town of Souris, Manitoba
The Red River drainage basin,
with the Souris River highlighted
Location
Countries
  • Canada
  • United States
Provinces
StateNorth Dakota
Cities
Physical characteristics
Sourcenorth of Weyburn
 • locationSaskatchewan
 • coordinates49°49′53″N 103°47′46″W
MouthAssiniboine River
 • location
Manitoba, Canada
 • coordinates
49°39′54″N 99°34′07″W
Length435 mi (700 km)
Basin size23,600 sq mi (61,000 km2)
Discharge 
 • locationWeyburn, SK; river mile 97.9 (river kilometre 157.6)
Basin features
River systemRed River drainage basin
Tributaries 
 • leftAntler
 • rightGainsborough
[1][2]
Saskatchewan Highway 9 in the upper Souris River Valley

Rising in southern Saskatchewan in the Yellow Grass Marshes north of Weyburn, the river wanders southeast into the U.S. through North Dakota beyond Minot to its most southern point at Velva, and then back north into Canada in southwestern Manitoba.

Flowing east, it passes through the communities of Melita, Hartney, Souris, and Wawanesa prior to the confluence with the Assiniboine River near Treesbank, about 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Brandon. The main tributaries of the Souris in Manitoba are the Antler River, Gainsborough Creek, and Plum Creek. The elevation at the confluence is approximately 1,120 feet (340 m) above sea level.

At the end of the last ice age, over 10,000 years ago, the rapid draining of former Glacial Lake Regina eroded a large channel that is now occupied by the much smaller contemporary Souris River.[3] Also, much of the drainage basin is fertile silt and clay deposited by another former glacial lake, Lake Souris.

Flow rates and flood potential

During the period from 1930 to 1941 severe drought conditions prevailed and PFRA constructed four stock watering dams. In 1937 the Snyder and Ross Dams were built near Melita. In 1938 the Napinka Dam was built and the Hartney Dam was built in 1941. These were all stop log dams with a total capacity of 2,400 acre-feet (3,000,000 m3). The Souris Dam was originally built in 1911 and was rebuilt in 1935. The Wawanesa Dam was completed in 1951 storing about 320 acre-feet (390,000 m3) of water.

Most of the annual flow of the Souris River comes from snow melt and spring rains. The annual flow volume varies dramatically from 3,400 acre-feet (4,200,000 m3) in 1937 to 2,100,000 acre-feet (2.6 km3) in 1976. It is expected that the total runoff for 2011 at Wawanesa will exceed 3,800,000 acre-feet (4.7 km3) about a one in 500-year event. The average annual runoff is equivalent to 3 mm over the entire Souris River watershed.[4]

Two large dams in Saskatchewan, Rafferty Dam and Grant Devine Dam were built, in part, to reduce flood peaks on the Souris River.

In summer 2011, a historic flood affected much of the Souris River basin, overtopping levees and causing the evacuation of about 11,000 residents in Minot as well as significant damage to farmland and other property along the length of the river.

The channel capacity of the river in Manitoba varies from about 150 cubic feet per second (4.2 m3/s) near the border, to about 1,400 cu ft/s (40 m3/s) through Melita, to about 1,100 cu ft/s (31 m3/s) near Lauder and 1,700 cu ft/s (48 m3/s) near Hartney. North of Hartney the capacity increases to more than 3,000 cu ft/s (85 m3/s). The drop between the border and Hartney is only about six inches per mile (9.5 cm/km).

Location 1882 Peak Flow (cfs) (Estimated) [5][6][7][8] 1976 Peak Flow (cfs) [9] 2011 Peak Flow (cfs) [10][11][12]
Minot 22,813.3[13] 9,350 26,900
Westhope 18,500[14] 12,400 30,400
Melita 30,017.5[15] 21,300 26,800
Souris N/A 24,800 28,200
Wawanesa 39,905.6[16] 26,200 27,800

Tributaries
Grant Devine Dam and Reservoir on Moose Mountain Creek

Cities and towns along the river

Rural Municipalities along the river

Bridges across the river

Fish species

Fish species include walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, black bullhead, goldeye, brown bullhead, smallmouth bass, and burbot.

See also

References
  1. "Natural Resources Canada-Canadian Geographical Names (Souris River)". Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  2. "Atlas of Canada Toporama". Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  3. "Proglacial Lakes". Esask. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  4. Archived data from Water Survey Canada
  5. Rannie, William .F. (2002). B.D. Thraves (ed.). "The Role of the Assiniboine River in the 1826 and 1852 Red River Floods" (PDF). Prairie Perspectives: Geographical Essays. Regina: University of Regina, Department of Geography. 5: 56–75.
  6. Eugene F. Kozera, P. Eng. (2011). "Recent Flooding and Flood Mitigation in Manitoba" (PDF). Province of Manitoba.
  7. "Water Survey of Canada - SOURIS RIVER AT MELITA (05NF001)". Environment Canada.
  8. "Water Survey of Canada - SOURIS RIVER AT WAWANESA (05NG001)". Environment Canada.
  9. "Daily Water Levels and Forecasts Souris River May 23, 2011" (PDF). Province of Manitoba. 2011.
  10. "Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Plan - Preliminary Engineering Report" (PDF). North Dakota State Water Commission. February 29, 2012.
  11. "2011 Post-Flood Report for the Souris River Basin – Revised March 2012" (PDF). US Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District. March 2012.
  12. "Daily Flood Sheet Souris River July 12, 2014" (PDF). Province of Manitoba. 2014.
  13. Converted from 646 (m3/s)
  14. Estimated from graph
  15. Converted from 850 (m3/s)
  16. Converted from 1130 (m3/s)
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