Namekagon
Namekagon is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 45.99°, -91.63°
About Namekagon
The Namekagon River (pronounced NAM-uh-KAH-gun) is a tributary of the St. Croix River. It is 101 miles (163 km) long and is located in northwestern Wisconsin in the United States. Its course is protected as part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.
The river's name is derived from the Ojibwe language Namekaagong-ziibi, meaning "river at the place abundant with sturgeons". According to the Geographic Names Information System, the river's name has also been spelled Namakagon, Namekagan, and Namekagun; the United States Board on Geographic Names issued a decision setting "Namekagon" as official English transliteration of the river's name in 1933.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Namekagon River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Namekagon in Depth
Course
The Namekagon River issues from Lake Namakagon in southeastern Bayfield County and flows southwestwardly through Sawyer and Washburn counties, past Hayward, and northwestwardly into Burnett County, where it joins the St. Croix, 45 miles (72 km) south of the city of Superior. Near its mouth it collects the Totagatic River.
History
The Namekagon River was an integral part in the transportation of lumber during the timber boom of the 1800's. Before the lumber boom, the river was used as a primary form of transportation by fur-traders, explorers and missionaries. In Trego, a sign stands which says, Here on the Great South Bend of the Namekagon was a natural camp-site, home of a band of Chippewa Indians and long used by explorers, missionaries, and fur-traders traveling the Namekagon route between the St. Croix and Chippewa rivers.In 1767 Jonathan Carver passed this way, downstream on his way from Prairie du Chien to Lake Superior via the Namekagon, St. Croix and Brule rivers.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Namekagon River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Namekagon: Key Facts
| Mouth | Saint Croix River |
|---|---|
| Drainage system | Saint Croix River drainage basin |
| Tributaries | Totagatic River |
Facts from Wikidata Q6961571 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Namekagon: Quick Answers
- Where is Namekagon?
- Namekagon is located in United States, at 45.9894° N, 91.6295° W.
- Are there dams on the Namekagon?
- No dam on the Namekagon is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.