Snake River (Red River of the North tributary)


The Snake River is a tributary of the Red River of the North in northwestern Minnesota in the United States. It is one of three streams in Minnesota with this name.
Snake River is the English translation of the native Ojibwe-language name.

Course

The Snake River is long and with its tributaries drains a area. It flows for its entire length on the old lake bed of glacial Lake Agassiz, mostly in western Marshall County but also through a small portion of northwestern Polk County. After initially flowing southwestwardly from its headwaters, the Snake turns westward and collects a short tributary, the South Branch Snake River, and passes the towns of Warren and Alvarado. Downstream of Alvarado, the Snake turns north-northwestward, paralleling the Red River in the Red River Valley. Much of the river's course through the valley has been straightened and channelized. It collects the Middle River upstream of its confluence with the Red in Fork Township.