Bad River (Michigan)
River in Michigan, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| Counties | Gratiot, Saginaw |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Newark Township |
| • coordinates | 43.24142°N 84.63972°W[1] |
| Mouth | Shiawassee River |
• location | Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge |
• coordinates | 43.32363°N 84.08942°W |
| Length | 44.3 mi (71.3 km) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | mouth |
| • average | 263.77 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]
