The Ocheyedan River is a 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 Little Sioux River

Little Sioux River

The Little Sioux is a river in the United States. It rises in southwest Minnesota near the Iowa border, and continues to flow southwest for across northwest Iowa into the Missouri River at Little Sioux. The Little Sioux River was known as Eaneah-waudepon or "Stone River" to the Sioux Indians...

, 58 mi (93 km) long, in southwestern 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...

 and northwestern Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 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 Little Sioux and Missouri

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 Rivers, 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 the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. The river has been channelized for much of its length.

Course

The Ocheyedan River flows from Ocheda Lake in Nobles County, Minnesota

Nobles County, Minnesota

Nobles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 21,378. Its county seat is Worthington.-Geography:...

, 3 mi (4.8 km) south of Worthington

Worthington, Minnesota

Worthington is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 12,764 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nobles County.The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Chicago, St...

, and flows generally southeastwardly through Osceola

Osceola County, Iowa

Osceola County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is named for Seminole war chief Osceola. The population was 6,462 in the 2010 census, a decline from 7,003 in the 2000 census. The county seat is Sibley, named for H. H. Sibley of Minnesota....

, O'Brien

O'Brien County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 14,398 in the county, with a population density of . There were 6,649 housing units, of which 6,069 were occupied.-2000 census:...

 and Clay

Clay County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 16,667 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,062 housing units, of which 7,282 were occupied.-2000 census:...

 Counties in Iowa. It joins the Little Sioux River at the town of Spencer

Spencer, Iowa

Spencer is a city in the state of Iowa , and the county seat of Clay County . It is located at the confluence of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers. The population was 11,233 in the 2010 census, a decline from 11,317 in the 2000 census. Spencer is famous as the home of the Clay County Fair,...

.

In Osceola County, the river collects the short Little Ocheyedan River, which rises near Hawkeye Point

Hawkeye Point

Hawkeye Point is the highest natural point in Iowa at . Located approximately north of Sibley on the eastern side of SR 60 and approximately south of the Iowa-Minnesota state border...

 (the highest elevation in Iowa) and flows southeastwardly.

Sources

• Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
• DeLorme
  DeLorme
  DeLorme is a major vendor of business-to-business and consumer mapping and GPS products and technologies. It is based in Yarmouth, Maine, United States....
  
   (1998). Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-214-5.
• DeLorme
  DeLorme
  DeLorme is a major vendor of business-to-business and consumer mapping and GPS products and technologies. It is based in Yarmouth, Maine, United States....
  
  (1994). Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-222-6.