Rainy River, MN

The Rainy River is a river, approximately 85 miles (137 km) long, which forms part of the U.S.-Canada border separating northern Minnesota and Northwestern Ontario.

It issues from the west side of Rainy Lake and flows generally west-northwest, between International Falls, Minnesota and Fort Frances, Ontario, and between Baudette, Minnesota and Rainy River, Ontario. It enters the southern end of Lake of the Woods approximately 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Baudette. It is used for hydroelectricity at International Falls. The town of Rainy River, Ontario was named after it; the Couchiching First Nation and Koochiching County, Minnesota are named after the Ojibwa's name for the river and the lake. The drainage basin of the river stretches east to the height of land about 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Lake Superior, where it was the southeast corner of the huge tract of land granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670. It ultimately drains through the Winnipeg River, Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River into Hudson Bay.