Des Moines River

The Des Moines River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 525 miles (845 km) long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States. The largest river flowing across 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 near the city of Des Moines, which takes its name from the river. It forms a short portion of Iowa's border with Missouri in Lee County. The Avenue of the Saints passes over this section.

Hydrography

The Des Moines River rises in two forks. The West Fork (the main branch) rises out of Lake Shetek in Murray County in southwestern Minnesota. It flows south-southeast into Emmet County, Iowa, past Estherville. The East Fork rises out of Okamanpeedan Lake in northern Emmet County on the Iowa-Minnesota border and flows 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 the border between Iowa and Missouri before joining the Mississippi from the northwest at Keokuk.

Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines ⁱ/dᵻˈmɔɪn/ is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is named after the Des Moines River, which may have been adapted from the French Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 203,433 as of the 2010 census. The five-county metropolitan area is ranked 91st in terms of population in the United States with 599,789 residents according to the 2013 estimate by the United States Census Bureau.

Des Moines is a major center of the U.S. insurance industry and has a sizable financial services and publishing business base. In fact, Des Moines 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 is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, Athene USA insurance, the Meredith Corporation, Ruan Transportation, EMC Insurance Companies, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, Voya Financial, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, ACE Limited, Marsh, Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred have large operations in or near the metro area. In recent years Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Facebook have established data processing and logistical facilities in the Des Moines metro. Forbes magazine ranked Des Moines as the "Best Place for Business" in both 2010 and 2013. In 2014, NBC ranked Des Moines as the "Wealthiest City in America" according to its criteria.

Des Moines (disambiguation)

Des Moines is the capital of the state of Iowa in the United States.

Des Moines may also refer to:

See also