Out of the 6,564 streams that flow through the U.S. State of Minnesota, there are 114 streams that are at least 30 miles long. The second longest river in the United States, the Mississippi River, originates in Minnesota before flowing south to the Gulf of Mexico. The longest river entirely within the state of Minnesota is the Minnesota River. Other rivers over 200 miles long include the Red River of the North, Des Moines River, Cedar River, Wapsipinicon River, Little Sioux River, and Roseau River.^[1][2]

Longest streams of Minnesota
[note 1]

Sections of several of the longest rivers define sections of the Minnesota border.^[3] The Red River of the North forms the border with North Dakota to the west. The Bois de Sioux River forms the border with South Dakota to the west. The Mississippi River, St. Croix River, and the St. Louis River form the border with Wisconsin to the east. The Rainy River and Pigeon River form the border with Ontario, Canada to the north.

Minnesota contains three major drainage basins/watersheds with waters from Minnesota rivers flowing south, north, or east.^[1] These major drainage basins meet in a triple divide point located at the Hill of Three Waters, just north of Hibbing, Minnesota (47°26.863′N 92°56.8′W / 47.447717°N 92.9467°W / 47.447717; -92.9467 (Hill of Three Waters)).^[4] The Mississippi River drainage basin with water flowing south (1,151,000 sq mi (2,980,000 km²)) is made up of the Upper Mississippi River watershed (above St. Paul)^{[note 2]}, Lower Mississippi River (Below St. Paul), Minnesota River drainage basin (17,000 sq mi (44,000 km²)), St. Croix River drainage basin (7,700 sq mi (20,000 km²)), Des Moines River drainage basin (14,802 sq mi (38,340 km²)), and Missouri River drainage basin (529,350 sq mi (1,371,000 km²)). Water flows southwards, eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico. Water flows to the north in the Hudson Bay/Artic drainage basin (3,861,400 sq mi (10,001,000 km²)), which includes the Red River of the North drainage basin (111,004 sq mi (287,500 km²)) and Lake of the Woods drainage basin (13,805 sq mi (35,750 km²))—of which 7,285 sq mi (18,870 km²) is in Minnesota. Minnesota water flows northward to the Hudson Bay. The Great Lakes Basin to the east includes the Lake Superior drainage basin in Minnesota and Wisconsin (49,300 sq mi (128,000 km²)).^[6] Minnesota water flows eastward through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.