# Shell Rock River

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The **Shell Rock River** is a 113-mile (182-kilometre)[3] [tributary](/source/Tributary) of the West Fork [Cedar River](/source/Cedar_River_(Iowa_River)) in southern [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota) and northern [Iowa](/source/Iowa) in the [United States](/source/United_States). Via the Cedar and [Iowa](/source/Iowa_River) rivers, it is part of the [Mississippi River](/source/Mississippi_River) [watershed](/source/Drainage_basin).[2]

## Name

This river was named for the fossil shells found in outcroppings along its banks.[4] The [United States Board on Geographic Names](/source/United_States_Board_on_Geographic_Names) settled on "Shell Rock River" as the stream's name in 1931. According to the [Geographic Names Information System](/source/Geographic_Names_Information_System), it has also been known by the spelling "Shellrock River".[2]

## Course

The Shell Rock River flows from Albert Lea Lake in [Freeborn County, Minnesota](/source/Freeborn_County,_Minnesota),[5] and soon enters Iowa, flowing generally south-southeastwardly through eastern [Worth](/source/Worth_County,_Iowa), northeastern [Cerro Gordo](/source/Cerro_Gordo_County,_Iowa), western [Floyd](/source/Floyd_County,_Iowa), northeastern [Butler](/source/Butler_County,_Iowa), southwestern [Bremer](/source/Bremer_County,_Iowa) and northwestern [Black Hawk](/source/Black_Hawk_County,_Iowa) counties, past the town of [Glenville](/source/Glenville,_Minnesota) in Minnesota and the towns of [Northwood](/source/Northwood,_Iowa), [Plymouth](/source/Plymouth,_Iowa), [Rock Falls](/source/Rock_Falls,_Iowa), [Nora Springs](/source/Nora_Springs,_Iowa), [Rockford](/source/Rockford,_Iowa), [Marble Rock](/source/Marble_Rock,_Iowa), [Greene](/source/Greene,_Iowa), [Clarksville](/source/Clarksville,_Iowa) and [Shell Rock](/source/Shell_Rock,_Iowa) in Iowa. It joins the West Fork of the Cedar River in Black Hawk County, about 6 miles (10 km) north-northwest of [Cedar Falls](/source/Cedar_Falls,_Iowa). At Rockford, Iowa, it collects the [Winnebago River](/source/Winnebago_River) from the west.[6]

## See also

- [List of Iowa rivers](/source/List_of_Iowa_rivers)
- [List of Minnesota rivers](/source/List_of_Minnesota_rivers)

## References

1. ["Shell Rock River"](https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ia/nwis/uv/?site_no=05462000&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060). *USGS*

1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [The National Map](http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/), accessed May 13, 2011

1. Upham, Warren (1920). [*Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance*](https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog). Minnesota Historical Society. p. [202](https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/page/n221)

1. [DeLorme](/source/DeLorme) (1994). *Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer*. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-222-6.

1. [DeLorme](/source/DeLorme) (1998). *Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer*. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-214-5.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shell Rock River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Rock_River) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Rock_River?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.