The Temperance River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 7, 2012 river in northern Minnesota. It drains into Lake Superior along its north shore just south of Tofte. It flows out of Brule Lake in Cook County generally south towards its mouth within Temperance River State Park. Its name is supposedly a pun on its lack of a sand bar.

Geography The Temperance River flows between its source, Brule Lake, and its mouth. Brule Lake is unusual in that it has two outlets. The Temperance flows from its western outlet, and carries approximately half of the flow leaving the lake, while the South Brule River carries the other half from its eastern outlet.Grant, U.S., "Lakes With Two Outlets in Northern Minnesota", p. 408. The American Geologist, Volume 19, 1897. After leaving Brule Lake, the Temperance flows through a chain of smaller lakes for the upper half of its length.Eberhart, Adolph Olson; Ralph, Georg A.; Follansbee, Robert. Report of the Water Resources Investigation of Minnesota, 1911-1912. p. 522. It shares this feature with its neighbors, the Cross, Poplar, and Cascade rivers, which gives it a warmer water temperature and more steady flow than streams further to the south.Waters, Thomas F. The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. p. 57. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1977. After this, it proceeds to flow directly over the bedrock which is entirely igneous, formed during the formation of the Keweenawan Rift.MN Department of Natural Resources, Temperance River Park Info, , retrieved July 20, 2010 Near Lake Superior, the river has dug deep potholes into the bedrock, some of which connected to form a narrow gorge and a system of waterfalls. The depth of the water where the river enters the lake prevents the river from developing a sand bar at its mouth. The Temperance has a drainage basin of , which is the fourth largest catchment for a Minnesota river entering into Superior, after the Saint Louis River, Pigeon River, and Brule River.Eberhart, Adolph Olson; Ralph, Georg A.; Follansbee, Robert. Report of the Water Resources Investigation of Minnesota, 1911-1912. p. 521.

History

The Temperance River was named Kawimbash by the Ojibwa, meaning "deep hollow river".Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Temperance River State Park Map, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2010 While it retained this name in the earliest geological surveys, Thomas Clark reported its present name in 1864, which he alleged arose as a pun from the fact that the river has no sand bar near its mouth. However, this is not the only river on Lake Superior to have this feature, which has cast some doubt on that story.Meyer, Roy W. Everyone's Country Estate: A History of Minnesota's State Parks, p. 140. Minnesota Historical Society Press, St. Paul, 1991.

The Temperance River is located within the Superior National Forest, and its upper portions are within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, thus it remains largely undeveloped. The only two major developments in the immediate vicinity of the river are Minnesota State Highway 61 and Temperance River State Park. Highway 61 was built by Minnesota's state highway department beginning in 1926, and was completely paved by 1940.Froehlig, Adam. "MN Highway Endings". Retrieved July 20, 2010. During this time the highway department acquired of land at the mouth of the river where Highway 61 crosses it, which in 1957 were organized into the present state park. The Superior Hiking Trail, which crosses the Temperance River, does so in this park.Superior Hiking Trail Association Retrieved July 20, 2010. There are three public campgrounds near the course of the river, two located near the mouth in Temperance River State Park and another in the Superior National Forest on the Sawbill Trail, roughly upstream from Temperance River State Park.Temperance River Campground Retrieved September 26, 2012.

The flow of the Temperance is not currently regulated, but during the early 20th century, dams on Brule Lake, used in conjunction with some limited logging in the region of the Brule River, have modified how much water escapes into either river.Eberhart, Adolph Olson; Ralph, Georg A.; Follansbee, Robert. Report of the Water Resources Investigation of Minnesota, 1911-1912. p. 525. In 1925, a canal was blasted between Brule Lake and the South Brule River, while a dam was built to close off its outlet into the Temperance, all without the permission of Minnesota's Game and Fish Department."Northern Lakes Present Varied Problems". p. 43. Fins, Feathers, and Fur, Official Bulletin of the Minnesota Game and Fish Department. No 43, September 1925. These were later repaired, using nearby boulders, brush, and two bags of cement.Brule Lake Trek Appeals to Many. p. 67. Fins, Feathers, and Fur, Official Bulletin of the Minnesota Game and Fish Department. No 44, March 1926.Brickner, Joe. Completing the Game and Fish House. Cook County New Herald, December 22, 1960. During the 1920s, Edward Wellington Backus was attempting to build hydroelectric dams on northern Minnesotan rivers,Chronology of the BWCA, Minnesota Humanities, , Retrieved July 20, 2010. and the blasting was likely connected to this development. It has been variously blamed on land speculators trying to convince buyers that the Brule had enough flow to be a viable source of hydroelectric power, or upon employees of a local development company working towards the same purpose.

See also List of rivers of Minnesota List of longest streams of Minnesota

References