Although the international border area of Minnesota is prone to heavy, even torrential rainfall from time to time, Rainy Lake was named for the heavy mist that formed above the rapids where the lake flows into the Rainy River (also named for the mist). The rapids, for which the city of International Falls, Minnesota ("I-Falls" to locals) is named, were flooded by the construction of a dam in the early 1900s and are no longer visible. The rapids or falls are located beneath the International Bridge connecting I-Falls and Fort Frances, Canada.