The Souris River or Mouse River (as it is alternatively known in the U.S.) is a river in central North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. It is about 700 km (435 mi) in length and drains about 23600 square miles (61,123.7 km²). It rises in the Yellow Grass Marshes north of Weyburn, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

. It wanders south through North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 beyond Minot

Minot, North Dakota

Minot is a city located in north central North Dakota in the United States. It is most widely known for the Air Force base located approximately 15 miles north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state...

 to its most southern point at the city of Velva, ND and then back north into Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

. The river passes through the communities of Melita

Melita, Manitoba

Melita is a town located in the southwestern corner of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Arthur and occupies a bend of the Souris River. The population, as of the 2006 census, is 1,051. It sits at the junction of Highways 3 and 83, approx....

, Hartney

Hartney, Manitoba

Hartney, established as a town in 1882 in Cameron municipality along the Souris River, is a small town in the South-Western portion of the Canadian province of Manitoba, population 400 . It is named after the legendary Mr...

, Souris

Souris, Manitoba

Souris is a town in the southwestern portion of the Canadian province of Manitoba, 2006 population 1,772, total including Glenwood Municipality is 2,412. It is located on the Souris River, from which it takes its name. The town is home to Canada's longest historic cable-stayed footbridge , known...

 and Wawanesa

Wawanesa, Manitoba

Wawanesa is a community in Manitoba, Canada. It is the birthplace of the The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. The village is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Oakland....

 and on to its confluence with the Assiniboine River

Assiniboine River

The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...

 at Treesbank

Treesbank, Manitoba

Treesbank is a settlement in Manitoba. It is located in the Rural Municipality of South Cypress. The Souris River meets combines with the Assiniboine River at Treesbank....

, about 25 miles (40.2 km) south east of Brandon

Brandon, Manitoba

Brandon is the second largest city in Manitoba, Canada, and is located in the southwestern area of the province. Brandon is the largest city in the Westman region of Manitoba. The city is located along the Assiniboine River. Spruce Woods Provincial Park and CFB Shilo are a relatively short distance...

. The main tributaries which flow into the Souris in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

 are the Antler River, the Gainsborough and Plum Creeks. Much of its drainage basin is fertile silt and clay deposited by former glacial Lake Souris.

The channel capacity of the river in Manitoba varies from about 150 cuft/s near the border, to about 1400 cuft/s through Melita, to about 1100 cuft/s near Lauder and 1700 cuft/s near Hartney. North of Hartney the capacity increases to more than 3000 cuft/s. The drop between the border and Hartney is only about 6 in/mi.

During the period from 1930 to 1941 severe drought conditions prevailed and PFRA

Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration

The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration is a branch under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, a department of the Federal Government of Canada....

 constructed four stock watering dams. In 1937 the Snyder and Ross Dams were built near Melita. In 1938 the Napinka Dam was built and the Hartney Dam was built in 1941. These were all stop log dams with a total capacity of 2400 acre.ft. The Souris Dam was originally built in 1911 and was rebuilt in 1935. The Wawanesa Dam was completed in 1951 storing about 320 acre.ft of water.

Most of the annual flow of the Souris River comes from snow melt and spring rains. The annual flow volume varies dramatically from 3400 acre.ft in 1937 to 2100000 acre.ft in 1976. It is expected that the total runoff for 2011 at Wawanesa will exceed 3800000 acre.ft about a one in 500 year event. The average annual runoff is equivalent to 3 mm over the entire Souris River watershed.

Two large dams in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, Rafferty Dam and Alameda Dam

Alameda Dam

The Alameda Dam is an embankment dam located near Alameda, and Oxbow, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was constructed in 1994 to control flows on the Moose Mountain Creek, and Souris River. It provides flood protection and irrigation for this area of Saskatchewan, along with protection for Minot, North...

 were built, in part, to reduce flood peaks on the Souris River.

In summer 2011, a historic flood

2011 Souris River flood

The 2011 Souris River flood is a record hundred-year flooding event on the Souris, a tributary of the Assiniboine River, which it meets near Treesbank, Manitoba. The Assiniboine meets the Red River of the North south of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The flooding has affected Saskatchewan and North Dakota,...

 affected much of the Souris River basin, overtopping levees and causing the evacuation of about 11,000 residents in Minot as well as significant damage to farmland and other property along the length of the river.

Fish species

Fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 species include walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

, yellow perch

Yellow perch

The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...

, northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

, white sucker

White Sucker

The White Sucker is a bottom-feeding freshwater fish inhabiting North America from Labrador in the north to Georgia and New Mexico in the south. It is a long, round-bodied fish with a dark green, grey, copper, brown, or black back and sides and a light underbelly. When fullgrown, it is between 12...

, black bullhead

Black bullhead

The black bullhead, Ameiurus melas, is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels located near its mouth, a broad head, spiny fins and no scales...

, brown bullhead

Brown bullhead

The brown bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus, is a fish of the Ictaluridae family that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead and yellow bullhead...

 and burbot

Burbot

The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...

.

Tributaries

• Long Creek
  Long Creek
  -United States:* Long Creek, Illinois* Long Creek Township, Macon County, Illinois* Long Creek Township, Decatur County, Iowa* Long Creek, Oregon** Long Creek School * Long Creek, South Carolina** Long Creek Academy* Long Creek, Sunnyvale, Texas...
  
  
• Short Creek
• Moose Mountain Creek
• Des Lacs River
  Des Lacs River
  The Des Lacs River is a river in central North America which flows through Saskatchewan. It flows into the Souris River in Burlington, North Dakota, but also comes very close to it near the 49th parallel....
  
  
• Livingston Creek
• Wintering River
• Deep River
  • Little Deep Creek
    • Spring Coulee
  • Cut Bank Creek
    Cut Bank Creek
    Cut Bank Creek is a tributary of the Marias River in the Missouri river basin watershed, approximately 75 mi long, in northwestern Montana in the United States, which having deeply eroded steep cliff banks eponymously gives name to the cut bank formal terrain term of geological science.It...
    
     (Cut Bank Creek (North Dakota))
    • North Lake
      North Lake
      North Lake may refer to:Lakes:*North Lake , Inyo County, California*North Lake , Goodhue County, Minnesota*North Lake , Martin County, Minnesota*North Lake...
      
      
      • Egg Creek
        • Hay Coulee
      • Buffalo Lodge Lake
        • South Egg Creek
• Willow Creek
  Willow Creek
  Willow Creek may refer to:Places* Willow Creek No. 458, Saskatchewan* Willow Creek No. 26, Alberta* Willow Creek Provincial Park, Alberta* Willow Creek, Alaska* Willow Creek, California** Willow Creek AVA, California wine region* Willow Creek, Montana...
  
  
  • Snake Creek (North Dakota)
  • Oak Creek
    Oak Creek
    Oak Creek is the name of several towns in the United States:*Oak Creek, Colorado*Oak Creek Township, Butler County, Nebraska*Oak Creek Township, Saunders County, Nebraska*Oak Creek Township, North Dakota*Oak Creek, Wisconsin*Village of Oak Creek, Arizona...
    
    
  • Ox Creek
    • Wolf Creek
      Wolf Creek
      -Communities:*Wolf Creek, Oregon, a town*Wolf Creek, Montana, an unincorporated community*Wolf Creek, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community-Streams:*Wolf Creek , a tributary of the Cedar River in Grundy and Black Hawk Counties, Iowa...
      
      
• Stone Creek
• Boundary Creek (North Dakota)
• Antler River
  Antler River
  The Antler River is located in southwestern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan in Canada.It is a tributary of the Souris River basin.-See also:*List of rivers of Manitoba*List of rivers of Saskatchewan...
  
  
• Gainsborough Creek
  Gainsborough Creek
  Gainsborough Creek is a tributary of the Souris River in southeastern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba.Communities on or near the waterway are Gainsborough, Saskatchewan and Pierson, Manitoba.-References:**...
  
  

Cities along the river

• Weyburn, Saskatchewan
  Weyburn, Saskatchewan
  Weyburn is a city in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located on the Souris River southeast of the provincial capital of Regina and is north of the border with the United States. The name is reputedly a corruption of the Scottish "wee burn," referring to a small creek. The city is...
  
  
• Estevan, Saskatchewan
  Estevan, Saskatchewan
  Estevan is the eighth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located at , which is near the southeastern corner of the province. The Souris River runs by the city. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5.-History:...
  
  
• Roche Percee, Saskatchewan
  Roche Percee, Saskatchewan
  -References:...
  
  
• Oxbow, Saskatchewan
  Oxbow, Saskatchewan
  Oxbow is a Canadian town in the southeast of the province of Saskatchewan.-Basic information:According to the 2006 Canadian census, the town's population is 1,139; the town's area is 3.10 square km; and population density is 366.8 per square km....
  
  
• Burlington, North Dakota
  Burlington, North Dakota
  Burlington is a city in Ward County, North Dakota in the United States. Burlington was founded in 1883, having been third in a series that included two earlier settlements. Despite this, Burlington is still the oldest city in Ward County, as well as north-western and north central North Dakota...
  
  
• Minot, North Dakota
  Minot, North Dakota
  Minot is a city located in north central North Dakota in the United States. It is most widely known for the Air Force base located approximately 15 miles north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state...
  
  
• Velva, North Dakota
  Velva, North Dakota
  As of the census of 2000, there were 1,049 people, 436 households, and 275 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,359.7 people per square mile . There were 483 housing units at an average density of 626.1 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 99.33% White, 0.10%...
  
  
• Towner, North Dakota
  Towner, North Dakota
  As of the census of 2000, there were 574 people, 295 households, and 158 families residing in the city. The population density was 694.0 people per square mile . There were 335 housing units at an average density of 405.0 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 97.91% White, 0.35%...
  
  
• Westhope, North Dakota
  Westhope, North Dakota
  As of the census of 2000, there were 533 people, 228 households, and 134 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,663.5 people per square mile . There were 268 housing units at an average density of 836.5 per square mile...
  
  
• Melita, Manitoba
  Melita, Manitoba
  Melita is a town located in the southwestern corner of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Arthur and occupies a bend of the Souris River. The population, as of the 2006 census, is 1,051. It sits at the junction of Highways 3 and 83, approx....
  
  
• Souris, Manitoba
  Souris, Manitoba
  Souris is a town in the southwestern portion of the Canadian province of Manitoba, 2006 population 1,772, total including Glenwood Municipality is 2,412. It is located on the Souris River, from which it takes its name. The town is home to Canada's longest historic cable-stayed footbridge , known...
  
  
• Wawanesa, Manitoba

See also

• List of rivers of Manitoba
• List of rivers of North Dakota
• List of rivers of Saskatchewan

External links

• USGS Canoeing Information
• International Joint Commission page on the Souris River
• Rafferty and Alameda Dams
• West Souris River Conservation District
• http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/details.cfm?p=11115 Fish Species of Saskatchewan
• http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/souris_river.html Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan