The Artichoke River is a short tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the St. Louis River in northeastern Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Via the St. Louis River, it is part of the watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 of Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

. It flows for its entire length in southern St. Louis County

St. Louis County, Minnesota

St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 200,226. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county by total area in Minnesota, and the second largest in the United States east of the Mississippi River; in land area alone, after Aroostook...

. Its name in the Ojibwe

Ojibwa

The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...

 language

Ojibwe language

Ojibwe , also called Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is characterized by a series of dialects that have local names and frequently local writing systems...

 is askibwaanikaa-ziibi (river full of Jerusalem artichoke

Jerusalem artichoke

The Jerusalem artichoke , also called the sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple or topinambour, is a species of sunflower native to eastern North America, and found from Eastern Canada and Maine west to North Dakota, and south to northern Florida and Texas...

s), having the identical name in Ojibwe as the near-by Us-kab-wan-ka River

Us-kab-wan-ka River

Us-kab-wan-ka River is a small tributary of the Cloquet River, in northeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is approximately 21 mi long, along with its tributaries, the Us-kab-wan-ka River drains an area of 40.43 mi² . Via the Cloquet River and the St. Louis River, it is part of...

.

The river flows from Artichoke Lake in New Independence Township

New Independence Township, Minnesota

New Independence Township is a township in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 299 at the 2010 census.U.S. Highway 53 and Minnesota Highway 33 are two of the main arterial routes in the township....

 and flows generally southwardly through Alborn

Alborn Township, Minnesota

Alborn Township is a township in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 460 at the 2010 census.The unincorporated communities of Alborn and Prosit are located within Alborn Township....

 and Culver

Culver Township, Minnesota

Culver Township is a township in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 294 at the 2010 census.U.S. Highway 2 serves as a main arterial route for the township....

 Townships. It flows into the St. Louis River from the north in Culver Township, opposite the town of Brookston

Brookston, Minnesota

Brookston is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States; located along the Saint Louis River, opposite the mouth of the Artichoke River. It serves as one of three administrative centers for the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation. The population was 141 at the 2010 census.Brookston is...

.