Maquoketa River
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The Maquoketa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 130 mi (209 km) long, in eastern Iowa in the United States. Its watershed encompasses 1879 sq mi (4886 sq km) within a rural region of rolling hills and farmland southwest of Dubuque.
It rises on the glaciated plain in southeastern Fayette County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) NNW of Oelwein. It flows briefly northeast, then generally southeast in the hills of eastern Iowa, past Manchester and Monticello. It receives the North Fork from the north at Maquoketa, then flows generally east in a highly meandering course as it approaches the Mississippi. It enters the Mississippi from the southwest in eastern Jackson County approximately 30 mi (48 km) southeast of Dubuque.
The watershed of the river is considered to be one of the most erosive within the upper Missippi basin, contributing approximately one half ton of sediment annually to the Mississippi annually. The river is considered one of the best bass and trout fisheries in Iowa.
External links
- Iowa State University: Maquoketa River watershed (http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/waterquality/projects/maquoketa.html)
- Univ. of Iowa: Bass on the Maquoketa (http://omega.grad.uiowa.edu/Smallmouth/MaquoketaRiver.htm)
- Iowa DNR: Trout fishing on the Maquoketa (http://www.iowadnr.com/fish/fishing/trout/maquok.html)