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Water resources of the Buffalo River Watershed, West-central Minnesota

Hydrologic Atlas 307
Prepared in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Conservation, Division of Waters, Soils and Minerals
By: , and 

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Abstract

The Buffalo River watershed includes two general physiographic areas – a glacial lake plain and an glacial moraine.

The lake plain, which was formed by Glacial lake Agassiz more than 9,000 years ago, is extremely flat – sloping only a few feet per mile westward near the Red River of the North. The moraine is largely an area of gently rolling hills, but in the eastern “tail” of the watershed the relief locally is over two hundred feet.

The watershed has an area of about 1,690 square miles and includes most of Clay County and parts of Wilkin, Otter Tail, Becker, and Norman Counties. The population of the area is about 45,500 – 31,000 urban and 14,500 rural.

The economy is largely agricultural. Sugar beet and wheat farming are dominant in the areas of clay and silt; potato farming is confined mainly to the sandy areas. Dairying and stock raising is important in the morainal area. The larger industries are located in Moorhead and consist of sugar beet, potato, and dairy product processing.

Water-based recreation consists mostly of fishing in the larger lakes in the morainal area, and water-fowl hunting in the area of prairie potholes – the western part of the morainal area.

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Water resources of the Buffalo River Watershed, West-central Minnesota
Series title Hydrologic Atlas
Series number 307
DOI 10.3133/ha307
Year Published 1969
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Washington, D.C.
Contributing office(s) Minnesota Water Science Center
Description 3 Plates: 40.00 x 42.72 inches or smaller
Country United States
State Minnesota
Other Geospatial Buffalo River watershed
Scale 250000
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details