The Bad River is a 44.3-mile-long (71.3 km)[3] river in Michigan. It rises in Newark Township near the city of Ithaca in Gratiot County and flows in a north-easterly direction into Saginaw County, and through the village of St. Charles, before emptying into the Shiawassee River within the bounds of the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge.[4]

Bad River
The Bad River in St. Charles
Map
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountiesGratiot, Saginaw
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationNewark Township
 • coordinates43°14′29″N 84°38′23″W / 43.24142°N 84.63972°W / 43.24142; -84.63972[1]
MouthShiawassee River
 • location
Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge
 • coordinates
43°19′25″N 84°05′22″W / 43.32363°N 84.08942°W / 43.32363; -84.08942
Length44.3 mi (71.3 km)
Discharge 
 • locationmouth
 • average263.77 cu ft/s (7.469 m3/s) (estimate)[2]

The river and its tributaries have a total combined length of 175 miles (282 km); most of it channelized.[4] Land use within the surrounding watershed is 86.5 percent agricultural; as a result, the river system has been adversely impacted by sedimentation.[5]

The name "Bad River" comes from the Chippewa Indians who called the river "maw-tchi-sebe" or quite literally, "bad river," because of how difficult it was for them to navigate it.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bad River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Bad River". WATERS GeoViewer. Archived from the original on 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed November 7, 2011
  4. ^ a b "Sedimentation Reduction Project in the Bad River Watershed". Ithaca, Michigan: Gratiot Conservation District. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  5. ^ "Funding Available in the Bad River Watershed!". Ithaca, Michigan: Gratiot Conservation District. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Dustin, Fred (1949). Saginaw History. Saginaw, Michigan. p. 11.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)