{{Use American English|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox river | name = Mustinka River | name_native = | name_other = | name_etymology = | nickname = <!---------------------- IMAGE--> | image = Mustinka River.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = A straightened and re-routed section of the Mustinka River in Redpath Township of Traverse County | image_alt = <!---------------------- MAPS --> | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | map_alt = | pushpin_map = Minnesota | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= Mouth of the Mustinka River | pushpin_map_alt = <!---------------------- LOCATION --> | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Minnesota | subdivision_type3 = Counties | subdivision_name3 = Traverse, Grant, and Otter Tail | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = <!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS --> | length = {{cvt|68|mi|km}} | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max = <!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES --> | source1 = | source1_location = | source1_coordinates= {{Coord|46.2124597|-96.1045034|display=inline}} | source1_elevation = | mouth = | mouth_location = Lake Traverse | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|45.7650|N|96.6176|W|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:US|display=it}} | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = Hudson Bay | basin_size = {{convert|909|sqmi}} | basin_landmarks = | basin_population = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | waterbodies = | waterfalls = | bridges = | ports = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = }}

The '''Mustinka River''' is a tributary of Lake Traverse, 68&nbsp;mi (109&nbsp;km) long,<ref name=NHD>U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map], accessed June 8, 2011</ref> in western Minnesota in the United States. Via Lake Traverse, the Bois de Sioux River, the Red River of the North, Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson River, it is part of the watershed of Hudson Bay. The river drains an area of {{convert|909|sqmi}}.<ref>Waters, Thomas F. (1977). ''The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. {{ISBN|0-8166-0960-8}}.</ref><ref>{{Gnis|648407|Mustinka River}}</ref>

Mustinka is a name derived from the Dakota language meaning "rabbit".<ref>{{cite book|last=Upham|first=Warren|authorlink=Warren Upham|title=Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance|url=https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog|year=1920|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|page=[https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/page/n236 217]}}</ref>

==Course== The Mustinka River rises about {{convert|5|mi|0}} south-southwest of Fergus Falls in southwestern Otter Tail County and initially flows generally southward into Grant County, passing through Stony Brook Lake and Lightning Lake. The river turns westwardly in southern Grant County and flows past Norcross into Traverse County, where it turns southwestward past Wheaton. It flows into the northern end of Lake Traverse from the east, about {{convert|7|mi|0}} southwest of Wheaton.<ref>DeLorme (1994). ''Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. {{ISBN|0-89933-222-6}}</ref> Twelvemile Creek is a tributary of the Mustinka River.<ref>{{cite book|title=Report of the water resources investigation of Minnesota, 1911-1912|year=1912|publisher=McGill-Warner|page=592|author=Minnesota. State Drainage Commission, Geological Survey (U.S.)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Streams and Rivers of Minnesota|last=Waters|first=Thomas F.|publisher=University Of Minnesota Press|year=1977|location=Minneapolis|isbn=0816609608|page=119}}</ref>

Much of the river's lower course has been straightened and channelized.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0UMRxUHy_IC&dq=Mustinka+River+straightened&pg=PA14 |title=Water Resources Development by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Minnesota |date=1959 |publisher=Corps of Engineers, North Central Division |language=en}}</ref>

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

==References== {{Reflist}}

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Category:Rivers of Minnesota Category:Rivers of Grant County, Minnesota Category:Rivers of Otter Tail County, Minnesota Category:Rivers of Traverse County, Minnesota Category:Dakota toponyms Category:Tributaries of Hudson Bay