Muskegon River

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The Muskegon River (Template:IPAc-en Script error: No such module "Respell".) is a Script error: No such module "convert".[1] river in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. From its source at Houghton Lake in Roscommon County, the river flows in a generally southwesterly direction to its mouth at Lake Michigan at the eponymous city of Muskegon. The river drains an area of Script error: No such module "convert".,[2] and collects a number of tributaries, including the Little Muskegon River, Hersey River, and Clam River.

In September 2002, an article in National Geographic raised concerns about a controversial deal made with Nestlé Waters North America, giving them permission "to bottle up to 210 million gallons (about 800 million liters) a year from an aquifer north of Grand Rapids, Michigan that recharges the Muskegon River".[3]

Description of the watershed

The Muskegon River watershed drains 2,350 square miles (6,100 km2) from ten counties in north central Michigan: Muskegon, Newaygo, Mecosta, Clare, Osceola, and Roscommon. The watershed flows through the cities of Muskegon, Newaygo, Big Rapids, Evart, and Houghton Lake. The river follows a southwesterly route through north central Michigan from its headwaters at Houghton Lake to its mouth at Muskegon Lake, which ultimately empties into Lake Michigan.

There are three man-made reservoirs on the Muskegon River, the Rogers Dam Pond, Hardy Dam Pond, and the Croton Dam Pond. All three dams on the river are owned and operated by Consumers Power for power generation purposes. Rogers Dam is located in Mecosta County south of Big Rapids, with Hardy Dam and Croton Dam located in Newaygo County.

History

Like many of its neighboring streams, the Muskegon was one of the favored logging rivers during the boom years of the 1880s-1890s. Remnants of stray logs embedded on the river bottom, left over from the spring logging runs, can still be seen along the river. The river is significant to the Algonquian peoples for fishing and hunting.

Winfield Scott Gerrish established a seven-mile-long logging railroad from Lake George to the Muskegon River.[4] However, there were several Michigan logging railroads in operation in the 1850s, including the seven-mile-long Blendon Lumber Company railroad in Ottawa County, which was the first in the state to employ a steam locomotive in May 1857.[5]

Wildlife

There is abundant wildlife, including black bear, otters, waterfowl, white-tailed deer, and bald eagles and, despite increasing development, some areas are still fairly remote and natural with much of the surrounding land composed of state-owned tracts.

The Muskegon State Game Area is an 8,411 acre section of land which overlays the Muskegon River on the section between Maple Island Road and US Route 31.[6] This state game area is accessible for licensed hunters. Permits can be obtained for whitetail deer hunting and waterfowl hunting. The Muskegon State Game Area spans both Muskegon County and Newaygo County.

Recreation

Camping is another popular activity around the river, with several shoreline parks and campgrounds. Hunting is popular in the forests near by on public hunting land.

Crossings

List of Bridge Crossings
Route Type City County Location
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Maple Island Road County Highway Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Warner Avenue County Highway Newaygo Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Bridge Street City Street Newaygo Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
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Croton Dam Pond Road County Road Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Hardy Dam Pond Road County Road Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Script error: No such module "Jct". State Highway Mecosta Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Script error: No such module "Jct". US Route Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
South State Street County Road Big Rapids Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Maple Street City Street Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Riverwalk Pedestrian Bridge
Baldwin Street City Street Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
White Pine Trail Non-Motorized Path Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Hoover Road County Road Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Hersey Road County Road Osceola Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Carlson Road County Road Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
South Main Street City Street Evart Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
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Pere Marquette Trail Non-Motorized Path Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
50th Avenue County Road Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Script error: No such module "Jct". Michigan Highway Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
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Railroad Railroad Clare Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Script error: No such module "Jct". Michigan Highway Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Leota Road County Road Missaukee Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Cadillac Road County Road Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
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Harrison Road County Road Script error: No such module "Coordinates".

There are approximately 31 bridge crossings over the Muskegon River waterway. These bridge crossing include motorized vehicle crossings, railroads, and several pedestrian/bicycle trail crossings. The majority of the bicycle and pedestrian trail crossings are former railroad bridges which have been converted to non-motorized traffic.

File:Croton Dam Muskegon River DSCN1104.JPG
Boater on Croton Dam Pond

Dams

The three major dams of the Muskegon River (Rogers, Hardy and Croton) generate about 45,600 kilowatts, with about 30,000 of that from Hardy Dam. This provides enough electricity to serve a community of nearly 23,000.[8] The smaller Reedsburg Dam is near the source of the Muskegon River.

Name Height Purpose(s) Capacity (MW) Year Owner name Reservoir name Coordinates Comments
Croton Script error: No such module "convert". Hydroelectric 8.85 1907 Consumers Energy Croton Dam Pond Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Hardy Script error: No such module "convert". Hydroelectric 30 1931 Consumers Energy Hardy Dam Pond Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Reedsburg N/A Flood control N/A 1940 Michigan DNR Dead Stream Flooding Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Rogers Script error: No such module "convert". Hydroelectric 6.75 1906 Consumers Energy Rogers Dam Pond Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Total 45.6

Cities and towns along the river

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See also

References

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  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed November 21, 2011
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Hillstrom, Kevin, and Laurie Hillstrom. Paddling Michigan. Guilford: Falcon Publishing, 2001. 98-100.
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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