Brule River (Minnesota)

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Brule River (Minnesota)

| name_native = {{native name|oj|Wiisaakode-ziibi}}

| name_other =

| name_etymology = burnt (French)

| nickname =

| image = The Devil's Kettle.JPG

| image_size =

| image_caption = The Devil's Kettle

| image_alt =

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| pushpin_map = Minnesota

| pushpin_map_size =

| pushpin_map_caption= Mouth of the Brule River

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| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = United States

| subdivision_type2 = State

| subdivision_name2 = Minnesota

| subdivision_type3 = County

| subdivision_name3 = Cook County

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| length = {{convert|40.4|mi}}

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| source1 =

| source1_location = Vista Lake

| source1_coordinates= {{Coord|48.0068342|-90.4723229|region:US-MN_type:river_source:gnis|display=inline}}

| source1_elevation =

| mouth =

| mouth_location = Marr Island, Lake Superior

| mouth_coordinates = {{Coord|47.8165587|-90.0500980|region:US-MN_type:river_source:gnis|display=inline,title}}

| mouth_elevation = {{cvt|607|ft|m}}

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| tributaries_left = Mons Creek

| tributaries_right = Gauthier Creek

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The Brule River is a river of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Brule River originates at Vista Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and flows {{convert|40.4|mi}}U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329155652/http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ |date=2012-03-29 }}, accessed May 2, 2012 east and southeast, terminating at Lake Superior approximately {{convert|14|mi|abbr=on}} northeast of Grand Marais, Minnesota, within the boundaries of Judge C. R. Magney State Park.{{cite web|url=http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_parks/spk00193.pdf|title=JUDGE C.R. MAGNEY STATE PARK|accessdate=30 May 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.northshorevisitor.com/activities/waterfalls.html|title=North Shore Minnesota Waterfalls - Highest in the State|publisher=|accessdate=30 May 2016}} A major tributary is the South Brule River, which rises at the east end of Brule Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness{{Gnis|655530|Brule River}}{{GNIS|658358|South Brule River}}

The river's original name of {{native name|oj|Wiisaakode-ziibi}} (Burnt Wood River) may have referenced a forest fire.{{cite web|url=https://ojibwe.net/rivers-of-the-north-shore/|title=Rivers of the North Shore|website=ojibwe.net}}{{cite book |last1=Fritzen |first1=John |title=Historic Sites and Place Names of Minnesota's North Shore |date=1974 |publisher=St. Louis County Historical Society |location=Duluth, MN |pages=23}} Brule River is a name derived from the French {{lang|fr|brulé}} meaning "burnt"; the English name has lost the diacritic and has an anglicized, monosyllabic pronunciation ({{IPAc-en|'|b|r|u|l}} {{respell|BROOL}}).{{cite book|author=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/n163 144]}}{{cite book |last1=Upham |first1=Warren |title=Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia |date=2001 |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press |location=St. Paul |isbn=0-87351-396-7 |pages=145–146 |edition=3rd, rev. and enl.}}

Half of the river disappears into a pothole known as "the Devil's Kettle" in Judge C. R. Magney State Park. Studies in 2017 showed that the water comes up at the bottom of the river near the kettle.{{cite news|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/02/28/hydrologists-solve-minnesota-devils-kettle-falls-mystery|work=MPR News|date=February 28, 2017|title=Hydrologists solve Minnesota Devils Kettle Falls mystery|access-date=April 30, 2021}}