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 source is located at Houghton Lake in Roscommon County, flowing out of the North Bay into neighboring Missaukee County. The river passes through Clare County, Osceola County, Mecosta County, Newaygo County, and Muskegon County, and generally flows southwesterly to its mouth at 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 primary river channel is long and drains an area of . In September 2002, an article in National Geographic raised concerns about a controversial deal made with Nestlé Waters North America, giving them permission "to bottle up to 210 million gallons (about 800 million liters) a year from an aquifer north of Grand Rapids, Michigan that recharges the Muskegon River". Description of the watershed The Muskegon River watershed drains 2,350 square miles (6,100 km2) from ten counties in north central Michigan: Muskegon, Newaygo, Mecosta, Clare, Osceola, and Roscommon. The watershed flows through the cities of Muskegon, Newaygo, Big Rapids, Evart, and Houghton Lake. The river follows a southwesterly route through north central Michigan from its headwaters at Houghton Lake to its mouth at Muskegon Lake, which ultimately empties into Lake Michigan. There are three man-made reservoirs on the Muskegon River, the Rogers Dam Pond, Hardy Dam Pond, and the Croton Dam Pond. All three dams on the river are owned and operated by Consumers Power for power generation purposes. Rogers Dam is located in Mecosta County south of Big Rapids, with Hardy Dam and Croton Dam located in Newaygo County. History Like many of its neighboring streams, the Muskegon was one of the favored logging rivers during the boom years of the 1880s-1890s. Remnants of stray logs embedded on the river bottom, left over from the spring logging runs, can still be seen along the river. The river is significant to the Algonquian peoples for fishing and hunting.