Origin of Name
Portage, the French word for "carry", refers to transporting a canoe overland, either between waterways or around an obstacle. The French word is used, although the river was used by the Potawattomi and other Native Americans for trade and transportation before the French arrived. The Portage River and a major tributary, Portage Creek, form a key water link between the drainage basins of the Kalamazoo River and the St. Joseph River. Tributaries of the two rivers run within 1.25 miles (2.0 km) of each other within what is now the large Kalamazoo suburb of Portage. From the high ground of this suburb, two creeks, both named Portage Creek, run north and south toward their respective drainage basins. The suburban city, creeks, and river are all named after this portage or carrying-place for birch bark and dugout canoes, a key link in the Native American infrastructure of what was to become the state of Michigan.
Read more about this topic: Portage River (Kalamazoo/St. Joseph Counties)
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