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Grand River (Michigan)

 

 
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Grand River (Michigan)
 
 
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The Grand River is the longest river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
 in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It runs 260 miles (420 km) through the cities of Jackson
Jackson, Michigan

Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor. It is the county seat of Jackson County, Michigan....
, Lansing
Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the List of U.S. state capitals of the U.S. state of Michigan, and the state's sixth largest city. It is located about 80 miles west-northwest of Detroit, Michigan and is mostly in Ingham County, Michigan, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan....
, Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 197,800. It is the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Michigan....
, and Grand Haven
Grand Haven, Michigan

Grand Haven is a city in the U.S. State of Michigan and is the county seat of Ottawa County, Michigan. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River , for which it is named....
.

Grand's headwaters begin in Somerset Township
Somerset Township, Michigan

Somerset Township is a civil township of Hillsdale County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,277 at the United States Census, 2000....
 in Hillsdale County , and in Liberty Township
Liberty Township, Jackson County, Michigan

Liberty Township is a civil township of Jackson County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States Census, 2000, the township population was 2,903....
 in Jackson County, and flow through Jackson, Ingham, Eaton, Clinton, Ionia, Kent, and Ottawa counties before emptying into Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The third-largest of the Great Lakes, it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S....
.

Its watershed
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 drains an area of 5,572 mile² (14,431 km²).






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The Grand River is the longest river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
 in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It runs 260 miles (420 km) through the cities of Jackson
Jackson, Michigan

Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor. It is the county seat of Jackson County, Michigan....
, Lansing
Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the List of U.S. state capitals of the U.S. state of Michigan, and the state's sixth largest city. It is located about 80 miles west-northwest of Detroit, Michigan and is mostly in Ingham County, Michigan, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan....
, Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 197,800. It is the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Michigan....
, and Grand Haven
Grand Haven, Michigan

Grand Haven is a city in the U.S. State of Michigan and is the county seat of Ottawa County, Michigan. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River , for which it is named....
.

Description

The Grand's headwaters begin in Somerset Township
Somerset Township, Michigan

Somerset Township is a civil township of Hillsdale County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,277 at the United States Census, 2000....
 in Hillsdale County , and in Liberty Township
Liberty Township, Jackson County, Michigan

Liberty Township is a civil township of Jackson County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States Census, 2000, the township population was 2,903....
 in Jackson County, and flow through Jackson, Ingham, Eaton, Clinton, Ionia, Kent, and Ottawa counties before emptying into Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The third-largest of the Great Lakes, it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S....
.

Its watershed
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 drains an area of 5,572 mile² (14,431 km²). The Grand River carries an average 3,800 ft³/s (108 m³/s). It has several dams along its length but is a trout
Trout

Trout are a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water....
 and salmon
Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish of the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the family are called trout,the difference is often attributed to the migratory life of the salmon as compared to the residential behaviour of trout, this holds true for the Atlantic salmon....
 stream for much of its length.

It is estimated that 22% of the pesticide usage in the Lake Michigan watershed occurs in the Grand River drainage which accounts for only 13% of the total watershed. Much of the basin is flat and it contains many swamps and lakes.

Tributaries are the Flat River
Flat River (Michigan)

The Flat River is a tributary of the Grand River in the western part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It rises as the outflow of the six lakes system in Belvidere Township, Michigan, east of Edmore, Michigan in Montcalm County, Michigan, at ....
, Looking Glass River
Looking Glass River

The Looking Glass River in the U.S. state of Michigan is a river flowing through the central region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is about 75-miles long, has no dams and borders many wetlands and woodlots....
, Maple River, Red Cedar River
Red Cedar River (Michigan)

The Red Cedar River is a westward flowing river in Michigan which is a tributary of the Grand River . Its source is Cedar Lake which is located in Marion Township, Michigan in the southeastern corner of Livingston County, Michigan, and it runs about 45 miles through Okemos, Michigan, East Lansing, Michigan, including the campus of Michigan S...
, Rogue River
Rogue River (Michigan)

The Rogue River is a river in the in U.S. state of Michigan. It runs through Kent County, Michigan and Newaygo County, Michigan counties and through the Rogue River State Game Area....
 and the Thornapple River
Thornapple River

The Thornapple River is an approximately 100 mile long tributary of Michigan's longest river, the Grand River . The Thornapple is located in western Michigan....
.

A 500 passenger dinner cruise ship modeled after a riverboat operates on the river in Lansing.

Grand Rapids was built on the site of a large rapids on the river, although these have disappeared after the installation of a low-head dam
Dam

A dam is a barrier that Reservoirs surface water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates, levees, and Dike are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions....
, and later a fish ladder
Fish ladder

Fishways, most commonly called fish ladders but also known as fish passes and in Australia also referred to as fish steps, are structures on or around artificial barriers to facilitate Fish migration#Classification fishes' natural Fish migration....
.

History

Before roads, canals, and railroads, the Grand River was an important navigational route through the Lower Peninsula of Michigan
Lower Peninsula of Michigan

The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. Geographically, the Lower Peninsula has a recognizable shape that many people associate with a mitten, with the mid-eastern region identified as The Thumb....
, used for centuries by various Native American
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 tribes and later by explorers and white settlers. The river was called O-wash-ta-nong, meaning "Far-away-water" because of its length.

It also formed part of a major demarcation of land ceded by Native Americans enabling U.S. settlers to legally obtain title to land in the area. In the 1821 Treaty of Chicago
Treaty of Chicago

The Treaty of Chicago may refer to either of two treaty made and signed in Chicago, Illinois between the United States and the Ottawa , Ojibwe , and Potawatomi Native Americans in the United States peoples....
, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi
Potawatomi

The Potawatomi are a Native Americans in the United States people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian languages....
 ceded to the United States all lands in Michigan Territory
Michigan Territory

Michigan Territory was an organized territory of the United States in the early 19th century, between June 30, 1805 and January 26, 1837, at which point it became Michigan, the 26th U.S....
 south of the Grand River, with the exception of several small reservations.

Grand River Avenue
Grand River Avenue

Grand River Avenue is one of the principal pre-Interstate Highway roads in the state of Michigan. The modern road cuts across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in a southeast-to-northwest fashion from Detroit, Michigan to Grand Rapids, Michigan....
 (or Grand River Road) was built early in the settlement of Michigan and runs from the head of navigation on the Grand to downtown Detroit. It formed an important part of an early route between Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 and Detroit, along with the Grand itself, from Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 197,800. It is the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Michigan....
 to Grand Haven
Grand Haven, Michigan

Grand Haven is a city in the U.S. State of Michigan and is the county seat of Ottawa County, Michigan. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River , for which it is named....
, and Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The third-largest of the Great Lakes, it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S....
.

See also

  • List of Michigan rivers
    List of Michigan rivers

    This is a list of Michigan rivers. This list includes only streams designated rivers although some may be smaller than those streams designated creeks, runs, brooks, swales, cuts, bayous, outlets, inlets, drains and ditches....