Muskegon River

Muskegon River
River
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Cities	Evart, Big Rapids, Croton, Newaygo, Muskegon
Source	Houghton Lake
- coordinates	44°23′58″N 84°47′27″W
Mouth	Muskegon Lake
- location	Muskegon, MI
- coordinates	43°15′41″N 86°14′53″W
Length	216 mi (348 km)
Basin	3,250 sq mi (8,417 km2)
Map of the Muskegon River

The Muskegon River is a river in the western portion of the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river has its headwaters in Houghton Lake in Roscommon County, flowing out of the North Bay into neighboring Missaukee County. From there it flows mostly southwest to Muskegon, Michigan, where it empties into Muskegon Lake. Muskegon Lake is connected to Lake Michigan via a mile-long channel. The river has several major branches, such as the Hersey River, Cedar Creek and Little Muskegon River. The main stream is 216 miles (348 km) long and drains an area of 3,250 square miles (8,400 km²).

History

Like many of its neighboring streams, the Muskegon was one of the favored logging rivers during the boom years of the 1880s-1890s, and a keen eye can still pick out remnants of stray logs left over from the spring logging runs which are embedded on the river bottom.

Wildlife

There is abundant wildlife, including otters, waterfowl, deer and eagles and, although development has been creeping in, the upper reaches are still fairly remote and natural with much of the surrounding land composed of state-owned tracts.

Recreation

In recent years, the river has gained a certain measure of fame as a recreational fishery, boasting large migratory steelhead, brown trout and planted Pacific salmon.

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. That is enough electricity to serve a community of nearly 23,000.

Name	Height	Purpose(s)	Capacity (MW)	Year	Owner name	Reservoir name	Coordinates	Comments
Croton	40 ft (12.2 m)	Hydroelectric	8.85	1907	Consumers Energy	Croton Dam Pond	43.43714°N 85.66382°W / 43.43714; -85.66382 (Croton Dam)
Hardy	106 ft (32.3 m)	Hydroelectric	30	1931	Consumers Energy	Hardy Dam Pond	43.48656°N 85.6296°W / 43.48656; -85.6296 (Hardy Dam)
Rogers	43 ft (13.1 m)	Hydroelectric	6.75	1906	Consumers Energy	Rogers Dam Pond	43.61320°N 85.47894°W / 43.61320; -85.47894 (Rogers Dam)
Total			45.6