Description
The Grand river begins in Somerset Township in Hillsdale County, and in Liberty Township in Jackson County, and flows through Jackson, Ingham, Eaton, Clinton, Ionia, Kent, and Ottawa counties before emptying into Lake Michigan.
Its watershed drains an area of 5,572 square miles (14,430 km2), including 18 counties and 158 townships. The Grand River carries an average 3,800 ft³/s (108 m³/s). It has several dams along its length but is a trout and 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 lake's total watershed. Much of the basin is flat, and it contains many swamps and lakes.
Tributaries are the Flat River, Looking Glass River, Maple River, Red Cedar River, Rogue River, Coldbrook Creek, Plaster Creek, Crockery Creek, and the Thornapple River.
During the ice age era the lower Grand River was part of a glacial river that drained Saginaw Bay into Lake Michigan. The outflow then poured over the Chicago divide and flowed down the Illinois River and Mississippi River.
Every ten years the river is celebrated by an expedition along the entire length. The journey of discovery explores and documents the problems and opportunities of Michigan's Grand River and its watershed. Grand River Expedition 2010 (GRE2010) included a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, technicians, historians, educators, students, environmental professionals, boaters and anglers, civic and business leaders, local, state and federal government representatives, writers, visual media specialists and private individuals from the general public. GRE2010 began in Liberty Center south of Jackson on July 14, continued down the 225 navigable miles through Eaton Rapids, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and ended at Grand Haven on Lake Michigan on July 26. Traditionally, some participants make the entire trip, camping along the way, while others paddle shorter stretches of the river. The watershed analysis and teaching team conducted studies and explains resulted as it moves downstream. The expedition offered presentations, displays and demonstrations to communities along the river in an attempt to interact with the river, its tributaries, and its people throughout the watershed. One of its stops was in Portland, at the riverside Verlen Kruger Memorial pavilion. Kruger traveled over 100,000 miles (160,000 km) by paddle, was the 1990 and 2000 GRE Rivermaster, and counted the Grand as his favorite river.
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, and later a fish ladder.
Read more about this topic: Grand River (Michigan)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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