Watershed Facts

Did you Know!

 

· The Hawk Creek Watershed drains 624,424 acres of land.  That’s 974.1 square miles!

· Approximately 98% of the original wetlands in the watershed have been drained.

· The Hawk Creek begins in Eagle Lake and flows 65 miles to the Minnesota River.

· 34 miles of Hawk Creek and 26 miles of Chetomba Creek were channelized in the 1960’s.

· Chetomba Creek in the Dakota language is Ċhetá mdė, which is translated into Hawk Creek.

· Over 87% of the landscape is agricultural, including corn, soybeans, sugar beets and small grains.

· Renville and Chippewa Counties have granite rock outcrops, along the Minnesota River Valley.  These rock outcrops hold many unique and rare plants and animals.