Nemadji River Explained

Nemadji River
Pushpin Map:Minnesota
Pushpin Map Caption:Mouth of the Nemadji River
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:United States
Subdivision Type2:State
Subdivision Name2:Minnesota and Wisconsin
Subdivision Type3:Counties
Subdivision Name3:Carlton County, Minnesota, Pine County, Minnesota, Douglas County, Wisconsin
Source1 Location:Nickerson, Minnesota
Mouth:Lake Superior
Mouth Location:Alouez Bay, Wisconsin
Mouth Coordinates:46.7033°N -92.0275°W

The Nemadji River is a river rising in Pine County, Minnesota, United States, which flows through Carlton County, Minnesota, and Douglas County, Wisconsin, to Lake Superior. The river is long measured from its source in Maheu Lake in Pine County, and from its confluence with the South Fork in Carlton County just east of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.[1] The Nemadji River empties into Lake Superior in an industrial neighborhood at Allouez Bay in the city of Superior's east-side neighborhood of Allouez and Wisconsin Point.

Course

Most of the rivers' length flows in Douglas County, Wisconsin, entering near Foxboro and exiting in East End, Superior, near Loons Foot Boat Landing, USH 2/53, and the BNSF Taconite Plant

History

Nemadji comes from the Ojibwe language, "ne-madji-tic-guay-och" (Nemanjitigweyaag in the current spelling), meaning "left river,"[2] [3] opposed to the Saint Louis River, which when viewed from Allouez Bay is the "right river."

In the 1992 Nemadji River train derailment a Burlington Northern train derailed south of Superior, releasing nearly 22,000 gallons of aromatic hydrocarbons including liquid benzene, a highly toxic chemical, into the Nemadji River. Fish, wildlife, and other resources were severely affected by the incident. In March 2004, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a draft that would use funds received from a settlement with Burlington Northern to restore a portion of the Lake Superior basin affected by the incident. The river runs through the City of Superior, Town of Summit, Town of Superior, and the counties of Douglas, Carlton, Pine.[4] [5]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 1, 2012
  2. http://www.duluthstreams.org/southshore/nemadji_desc.html Lake Superior Streams – Nemadji River
  3. Web site: Namanjinik (Ni) | the Ojibwe People's Dictionary.
  4. UPI Archives, June 30, 1992 'Benzene spill forces evacuation of some 80,000' https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/06/30/Benzene-spill-forces-evacuation-of-some-80000/2171709876800/
  5. US NOAA, 'Incident News,' June 30, 1992, followed by updates through September 8, 1992, 'Superior, Wisconsin Train Derailment; Intersection of State Highway 35, the Nemadji River, and the Burlington Northern rail line, Superior, Wisconsin' https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6890#!