Little Menominee River Little Menominee River The Little Menominee River is a tributary of the Upper Mississippi River, which it joins in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. The Little Menominee rises in Grant County, Wisconsin. It flows south, to the east of the Menominee River, into Illinois. It crosses the northwestern corner of Illinois for about six miles before joining the Mississippi at the southern end of East Dubuque. The town of Menominee, Illinois is located on the river. The name "Menominee" refers to the Menominee, a Native American people. The name means "good seed" or "wild rice". The river is part of the
Big Thompson River tributary flows east, through the town of Glen Haven, where it merges with the Big Thompson River in the town of Drake, in the Big Thompson Canyon. From Lake Estes, the river descends 1/2 mile (800 m) in elevation through the mountains in the spectacular 25 mi (40 km) Big Thompson Canyon, emerging from the foothills west of Loveland. It flows eastward, south of Loveland across the plains into Weld County and joins the South Platte approximately 5 mi (8 km) south of Greeley. It receives the Little Thompson River approximately four mi (6 km) upstream from its mouth. Water