Souris River

Souris River
Mouse River, Rivière Souris
The Souris River in the town of Souris, Manitoba.
Countries	Canada, United States
States/Provinces	Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Manitoba
Part of	Red River drainage basin
Tributaries
- left	Antler
- right	Gainsborough
Cities	Minot, ND, Souris, MB, Weyburn, SK, Melita, MB
Source	north of Weyburn
- location	Saskatchewan
- coordinates
Mouth	Assiniboine River
- location	Manitoba, Canada
- coordinates
Length	435 mi (700 km)
Basin	23,600 sq mi (61,124 km2)
The Red River drainage basin, with the Souris River highlighted The Red River drainage basin, with the Souris River highlighted

File:Alameda Reservoir-Alameda Dam (625135522).jpg

Alameda Dam and Reservoir

The Souris River (French: rivière Souris) or Mouse River (as it is alternatively known in the U.S.) is a river in central North America. It is about 700 km (435 mi) in length and drains about . It rises in the Yellow Grass Marshes north of Weyburn, Saskatchewan. It wanders south through North Dakota beyond Minot to its most southern point at the city of Velva, and then back north into Manitoba. The river passes through the communities of Melita, Hartney, Souris and Wawanesa and on to its confluence with the Assiniboine River at Treesbank, about south east of Brandon. The main tributaries which flow into the Souris in Manitoba 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 cubic feet per second (4.2 m³/s) near the border, to about 1,400 cubic feet per second (40 m³/s) through Melita, to about 1,100 cubic feet per second (31 m³/s) near Lauder and 1,700 cubic feet per second (48 m³/s) near Hartney. North of Hartney the capacity increases to more than 3,000 cubic feet per second (85 m³/s). The drop between the border and Hartney is only about 6 inches per mile (9.5 cm/km).

During the period from 1930 to 1941 severe drought conditions prevailed and PFRA 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 . The Souris Dam was originally built in 1911 and was rebuilt in 1935. The Wawanesa Dam was completed in 1951 storing about 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 in 1937 to in 1976. It is expected that the total runoff for 2011 at Wawanesa will exceed 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, Rafferty Dam and Alameda Dam were built, in part, to reduce flood peaks on the Souris River.

In summer 2011, a historic flood 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.

Flow rates and flood potential

Location	1882 Peak Flow (cfs) (Estimated)	1976 Peak Flow (cfs)	2011 Peak Flow (cfs)
Minot	22,813.3	9,350	26,900
Westhope	18,500	12,400	30,400
Melita	30,017.5	21,300	26,800
Souris	N/A	24,800	28,200
Wawanesa	39,905.6	26,200	27,800

Fish species

Fish species include walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, black bullhead, goldeye, brown bullhead and burbot.

Tributaries

• Long Creek
• Short Creek
• Moose Mountain Creek
• Des Lacs River
• Livingston Creek
• Wintering River
• Deep River
  • Little Deep Creek
    • Spring Coulee
  • Cut Bank Creek (Cut Bank Creek (North Dakota))
    • North Lake
      • Egg Creek
        • Hay Coulee
      • Buffalo Lodge Lake
        • South Egg Creek
• Willow Creek
  • Snake Creek (North Dakota)
  • Oak Creek
  • Ox Creek
    • Wolf Creek
• Stoney Creek
• Boundary Creek (North Dakota)
• Antler River
• Gainsborough Creek

Cities along the river

• Weyburn, Saskatchewan
• Estevan, Saskatchewan
• Roche Percee, Saskatchewan
• Oxbow, Saskatchewan
• Burlington, North Dakota
• Minot, North Dakota
• Velva, North Dakota
• Towner, North Dakota
• Westhope, North Dakota
• Melita, Manitoba
• Souris, Manitoba
• Wawanesa, Manitoba

Rural Municipalities along the river

• Souris Valley No. 7, Saskatchewan
• Municipality of Grassland

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
• Fish Species of Saskatchewan
• Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan