Bluff Creek is a tributary of the lower Minnesota River. The stream begins at the headwaters located at the Bluff Creek Preserve in Chanhassen, Minnesota near Minnesota State Highway 41 in the north and discharges into the Minnesota River floodplain near Shakopee in Scott County in the south. Bluff Creek is part of the Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek watershed district of Chanhassen and Eden Prairie.
History
Bluff Creek is located in the southwestern Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, it begins in Chanhassen where it runs through Rice Lake, the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, agricultural land, forests, grassland, and some urban areas before discharging into the Minnesota River near Shakopee. Stream flow, or the rate of water flowing in a stream, affects aquatic life and the ecosystem. High flows at Bluff Creek can lead to flooding and erosion, and transport pollutants. Bluff Creek flows year-round due to groundwater discharge. Its flow is also influenced by how much rain or snow has fallen in any given year. Since 2003, the average flow at Bluff Creek was a little more than four cubic feet-per-second.
Namesake Many places in and around Chanhassen bear the name of Bluff Creek including Bluff Creek Elementary School, which is part of the Eastern Carver County School District 112 and the Bluff Creek Golf Course.
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