The Raccoon River is a 30.8-mile-long (49.6 km) tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States . As measured using the longest of its three forks, its length increases to 226 miles (364 km). Via the Des Moines River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River . The river runs through an intensely cultivated area of croplands and livestock farming, receiving Tile drainage from slow-draining rich natural bottomland.
24-621: The Des Moines metropolitan area has been obtaining its drinking water from the Raccoon River just before it empties into the Des Moines River through water utilities since the 19th century. During the Great Flood of 1993 , the Raccoon River flooded the water treatment facility of Des Moines, shutting off the city's supply of drinking water. The Racoon River was first documented on the 1814 map by Lewis and Clark, though
48-671: A record that holds to this day. The worst flooding occurred May to June in the Des Moines River Basin. Major flooding in 1851 occurred in Bentonsport , Croton , Bonaparte , Des Moines , Eddyville , Farmington , Iowaville , Keosauqua , Muscatine , Oskaloosa , Ottumwa , Red Rock , and Rochester . The river has a history of seasonal flooding. For example, in May 1944 the Riverview Park had just opened for
72-659: Is the Des Moines River , where it passes the northeastern corner of Warren County, and the southeastern corner of Polk County. Polk County was originally the only county in the Des Moines metropolitan area when the United States Bureau of the Budget (now the United States Office of Management and Budget ) began defining metropolitan areas in 1950. Warren County was added in 1973 and Dallas County
96-583: Is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group , Ruan Transportation, TMC Transportation, EMC Insurance Companies, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield . Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo , Cognizant , Voya Financial , Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company , ACE Limited , Marsh, Monsanto , and Corteva have large operations in or near the metropolitan area. In recent years, Microsoft , Hewlett-Packard , and Facebook have built data-processing and logistical facilities in
120-581: The Des Moines River just south of downtown Des Moines and is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River . Both the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers have been providing drinking water for the Des Moines metropolitan area through water utilities since the 19th century. During the Great Flood of 1993 , the Raccoon River flooded the water treatment facility of Des Moines, shutting off
144-481: The Des Moines area. The Des Moines area is home to 5 Fortune 1000 headquarters – 2021 rankings Relief Airports Interstates U.S. Highways Iowa Highways Des Moines River The Des Moines River ( / d ə ˈ m ɔɪ n / ) is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately 525 miles (845 km) long from its farther headwaters. The largest river flowing across
168-600: The Iowa-Minnesota border, then south, through Algona . The two forks join in southern Humboldt County , approximately 5 miles (8 km) south of Humboldt at Frank Gotch State Park . The combined stream flows roughly southward through Fort Dodge . South of Boone it passes through the Ledges State Park . It flows through downtown Des Moines, then turns generally southeastward, flowing through Ottumwa . It forms approximately 20 miles (32 km) of
192-569: The MSA was $ 21,253. The census tracts for 2000 are shown in the map from the Iowa Data Center. Des Moines is a major center of the US insurance industry and has a sizable financial services and publishing business base. The city was credited as the "number one spot for U.S. insurance companies" in a Business Wire article and named the third-largest "insurance capital" of the world. The city
216-474: The MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 90.24% White , 3.85% African American , 0.24% Native American , 2.15% Asian , 0.05% Pacific Islander , 2.00% from other races , and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.02% of the population. The median income for a household in the MSA was $ 44,667, and the median income for a family was $ 52,617. Males had a median income of $ 34,710 versus $ 25,593 for females. The per capita income for
240-953: The Mississippi. William Bright writes that Moines was an abbreviation used by the French for Moingouena or Moingona , an Algonquian subgroup of the Illinois people . The Native American term was /mooyiinkweena/ , a derogatory name applied to the Moingouena by the Peoria people , a closely related subgroup. The meaning of the native word, according to an early French writer, is visage plein d'ordure , or in plain English, "shit-face", from mooy- , "shit", -iinkwee , "face", and -na , "indefinite actor". The 1718 Guillaume Delisle map (pictured) labels it as "le Moingona R." During
264-608: The USGS references the name to a later map from 1843 named Hydrological Basin of the Upper Mississippi River based on field measurements by Joseph N. Nicollet during his Midwestern expeditions in the 1830s. The Raccoon River is a 30.8-mile-long (49.6 km) tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States . It flows for much of its length as three streams and when measured using
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#1732783365528288-625: The border between Iowa and Missouri before joining the Mississippi from the northwest at Keokuk . It receives the Boone River from the northeast approximately 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Fort Dodge. It receives the Raccoon River from the west in the city of Des Moines. Above the city of Des Moines, it is impounded to create the Saylorville Lake reservoir. About midway below Saylorville and above Ottumwa, near Pella ,
312-587: The city of Des Moines and nearby communities. In another period of flooding, on June 13, 2008, officials issued a voluntary evacuation order for much of downtown and other areas bordering the Des Moines River. The river had reached flood stage in many locations, and Mayor Frank Cownie said the evacuations were an attempt "to err on the side of citizens and residents." According to the Geographic Names Information System ,
336-417: The city's drinking water supply. Spring thaws, as in the spring of 2013, and rainy spells after drought wash nitrate from fertilizer into the river. On November 20, 2014, nitrates spiked at 13.7 parts per million (ppm), making the water unsafe for pregnant women and infants. (The US Environmental Protection Agency requires officials to inform the public about safety risks at 10 ppm.) At the time, these were
360-627: The highest readings in the nation. Des Moines metropolitan area The Des Moines metropolitan area , officially known as the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is located at the confluence of the Des Moines River and the Raccoon River . Des Moines serves as the capital of the U.S. state of Iowa . The metro area consists of six counties in central Iowa: Polk , Dallas , Warren , Madison , Guthrie , and Jasper . The Des Moines – Ames – West Des Moines Combined Statistical Area (CSA) encompasses
384-569: The longest of its three forks, its length increases to 226 miles (364 km). The river runs through an intensely cultivated area of croplands mostly of corn and soy and livestock farming, where slow-draining rich natural bottomlands have been tiled to drain them for agricultural cultivation. The north and south forks join in Dallas County just west of Van Meter , and the Raccoon River flows generally eastward into Polk County , past Walnut Woods State Park and West Des Moines . It joins
408-573: The mid-19th century, the river supported the main commercial transportation by water across Iowa. River traffic began to be superseded by the railroads constructed from the 1860s. Catastrophic flooding occurred along the Des Moines River during the Great Flood of 1851 , nearly destroying the new town of Des Moines . Residents had never previously experienced a major flood, and river towns lacked levees and substantial bridges that could withstand flooding. In 1851, 74.5 in (191.5 cm) of rain fell in Iowa,
432-757: The river is impounded to create the Lake Red Rock reservoir. One of the earliest French maps that depicts the Des Moines (1703) refers to it as "R. des Otentas," which translates to "River of the Otoe"; the Otoe Tribe lived in the interior of Iowa in the 18th century. The Meskwaki and Sauk people referred to the river as " Ke-o-shaw-qua " (Hermit's River), from which Keosauqua, Iowa , derives its name. The Dakota Indians , who lived near its headwaters in present-day Minnesota, referred to it as " Inyan Shasha " in their Siouan language . Another Siouan name
456-404: The season on May 19, 1944. At around dawn on May 23, the levee began to collapse. The river was too much to hold back. Quickly the breach in the levee grew to nearly 100 feet (30 m) wide, and the river water quickly enveloped all of the park and the surrounding area. The Great Flood of 1993 on the river and its tributary the Raccoon, in the summer of 1993, forced the evacuation of much of
480-419: The separate metropolitan area of Ames ( Story Country ), and the separate micropolitan areas of Pella ( Marion County ), Boone ( Boone County ) and Oskaloosa ( Mahaska ). The Des Moines area is a fast-growing metro area. Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA Combined Statistical Area The lowest geographical point in the metropolitan area
504-605: The state of Iowa , it rises in southern Minnesota and flows across Iowa from northwest to southeast, passing from the glaciated plains into the unglaciated hills, transitioning near the capital city of Des Moines in the center of the state. The river continues to flow in a southeastern direction away from Des Moines, flowing directly into the Mississippi River. The Des Moines River forms a short portion of Iowa's border with Missouri between Lee County, Iowa and Clark County, Missouri . The city of Des Moines, Iowa,
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#1732783365528528-454: Was " Eah-sha-wa-pa-ta, " or "Red Stone" river, possibly referring the bluffs at Red Rock or the reddish Sioux Quartzite bedrock near its headwaters. The origin of the name Des Moines is obscure. Early French explorers named it La Rivière des Moines , literally meaning "River of the Monks." The name may have referred to early Trappist monks who built huts near the mouth of the river at
552-634: Was added in 1983. Guthrie and Madison counties were added in 2003 after metropolitan areas were redefined. In 2005 the area was renamed the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area after a special census showed that West Des Moines had topped the 50,000 mark in population. Jasper county was added in September 2018. Population as of 2020 Census As of the census of 2000, there were 481,394 people, 189,371 households, and 126,177 families residing within
576-1048: Was named for the river. In Minnesota, the upper forks of the Des Moines River drain the plateau and moraines between the Coteau des Prairies to the west, which is drained by the Big Sioux River , and the lower lands to the east which drain northward into the Blue Earth and Minnesota Rivers . The Des Moines River rises in two forks. The West Fork (the main branch) rises out of the wetlands surrounding Lake Yankton and Long Lake in Lyon County in southwestern Minnesota. The small stream flows southwest into Lake Shetek , then through Windom and Jackson, Minnesota , and near Estherville , Iowa. The East Fork rises out in rural Martin County, Minnesota, just north of Interstate 90 . It then flows through Okamanpeedan Lake on
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