Raccoon River
| Raccoon River | |
|---|---|
The Raccoon River at Van Meter | |
Map of the Raccoon River watershed | |
| Location | |
| Country | US |
| State | Iowa |
| District | Polk County, Iowa, Dallas County, Iowa |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • coordinates | 41°32′38″N 93°58′00″W / 41.54389°N 93.96667°W |
| • elevation | 850 ft (260 m) |
| Mouth | Des Moines River |
• location | Des Moines, Iowa |
• coordinates | 41°34′46″N 93°36′44″W / 41.57944°N 93.61222°W |
• elevation | 784 ft (239 m) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Fleur Drive, Des Moines, Iowa |
| • average | 2,721 cu/ft. per sec. |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | South Raccoon River |
| • right | North Raccoon River |
The Raccoon River is a 30.8-mile-long (49.6 km) tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States. As measured using the longest of its three forks, its length increases to 226 miles (364 km). Via the Des Moines River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The river runs through an intensely cultivated area of croplands and livestock farming, receiving Tile drainage from slow-draining rich natural bottomland.
The Des Moines metropolitan area has been obtaining its drinking water from the Raccoon River just before it empties into the Des Moines River through water utilities since the 19th century. During the Great Flood of 1993, the Raccoon River flooded the water treatment facility of Des Moines, shutting off the city's supply of drinking water.