Vermillion River (Minnesota)

Vermillion, derived from the French for "red", was probably so named from deposits of ochre the Dakota used for body painting. Also in reference to the ochre deposits, the Dakota name for the river, Wa Se Sa Wa Kpa, translates to 'Red Paint River'. An old channel of the Vermillion River continues south from Hastings on the western edge of the Mississippi valley. ==Activities on the river==

In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the river was used for water power, supplying power to gristmills. A park surrounding the falls preserves the remains of a mill operated by Alexander Ramsey, one of the leading citizens of early Minnesota. The nonprofit conservation group Minnesota Trout Unlimited and its volunteers have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in physical restoration of the river and adjoining upland areas, funding four projects through grants from the state's Outdoor Heritage Fund. The Twin Cities chapter of Trout Unlimited sponsors a local community volunteer group called the Vermillion Riverkeepers. Volunteers work with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to remove invasive non-native species such as buckthorn from several state DNR Aquatic Management Areas (AMAs), in addition to fisheries research and stream restoration projects . Another group, Friends of the Mississippi River, engages people in cleanups, restoration events and educational activities through its Vermillion Stewards Program and accesses state grant funding to enable upland restoration across hundreds of acres in the Vermillion watershed. == Gallery of images ==

Image:vupperfalls.jpg|Vermillion River upper falls in Hastings Image:vvalley1.jpg|Vermillion River valley in Hastings Image:vvaley2.jpg|Vermillion River valley in Hastings Image:Ramsey Mill.jpg|Ruin of the 1857 Ramsey Mill == See also ==