Maumee River

Maumee River
The Maumee River at Grand Rapids, Ohio
Origin	Fort Wayne by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys.
Mouth	Lake Erie at Toledo
Basin countries	USA
Length	137 miles (220 km)
Source elevation	750 ft (229 m)
Mouth elevation	571 ft (174 m)
Avg. discharge	5,297 ft³/s (150 m³/s)
Basin area	6,354 mi² (16,458 km²)

The Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for 137 miles (220 km)^[1] through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the Maumee Bay of Lake Erie at the city of Toledo, Ohio. It was designated an Ohio State Scenic River on July 18, 1974.

History

Historically the river was also known as the "Miami" in United States treaties with Native Americans. As early as 1671, French colonists called the river was called Miami du Lac, or Miami of the Lake (in contrast to the "Miami of the Ohio" or the Great Miami River). Maumee is an anglicized spelling of the Ottawa name for the Miami Indians, Maamii.

The Battle of Fallen Timbers, the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, was fought 3/4 mile (1.2 km) north of the banks of the Maumee River. After this decisive victory for General Anthony Wayne, Native Americans ceded a twelve mile square tract around Perrysburg and Maumee to the United States by the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.^[2] Lands north of the river and downstream of Defiance were ceded in 1807,^[3] and the rest of the Maumee River valley was ceded in 1817.^[4]

Prior to the development of canals, portages between the rivers were important trade routes. US forces built forts such as Fort Loramie, Fort Recovery, and Fort Defiance. In honor of General Wayne's victory on the banks of the Maumee, the primary bridge crossing the river near downtown Toledo is named the Anthony Wayne Suspension Bridge.

A dispute over control of part of the Maumee River region led to the so-called Toledo War between Ohio and the Michigan Territory.

Natural history

The watershed of the Maumee River was a large wetlands known as the Great Black Swamp. In the nineteenth century, settlers struggled to drain it to convert the fertile land to farmland, altering an important habitat for migrating birds and a variety of wildlife. The wetlands was the remains of Glacial Lake Maumee, the proglacial ancestor of Lake Erie.

Transportation

The mouth of the river at Lake Erie is wide and supports considerable commercial traffic, including oil, grain, and coal. However, about 12 miles (19 km) upstream, in the town of Perrysburg, Ohio, the river becomes much shallower and supports only recreational navigation above that point. The abandoned Miami and Erie Canal paralleled the Maumee between Defiance, Ohio and Toledo; portions of its towpath are currently maintained for recreational use. The Wabash and Erie Canal continued on from Defiance to Fort Wayne, crossing the "summit" to the Wabash River valley. Both were important pre-railway transportation methods in the 1840-60 period. The Miami and Erie was north of the river, until it crossed an aqueduct and turned south at Defiance, headed for Cincinnati. The Wabash canal was south of the Maumee until it reached Fort Wayne.

Map of the Maumee River watershed.

Watershed

The Maumee has the largest watershed of any Great Lakes river^[5]with 8,316 square miles (21,540 km²). Its watershed includes a portion of southern Michigan. In addition to its source tributaries the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, the Maumee's principal tributaries are the Auglaize River and the Tiffin River, which join it at Defiance from the south and north, respectively.

Islands

There are several small islands in the section of the Maumee River in northwest Ohio. The names^[6][7] of the islands are:

• Indian Island - near Farnsworth Park west of Toledo
• Missionary Island - actually several islands; near Farnsworth Park west of Toledo
• Granger Island - near Waterville, Ohio
• Butler Island - near Side Cut Metropark
• Bluegrass Island - part of Side Cut Metropark
• Audubon Island - the largest island in the Maumee River, formerly McKee's Island or Ewing Island, part of SideCut Park
• Marengo Island - near Maumee, Ohio
• Horseshoe Island - near Walbridge Park in Toledo
• Clark Island - near Walbridge Park in Toledo
• Corbutt Island - in Toledo
• Grassy Island - near Cullen Park in Toledo
• Preston Island - near Defiance, Ohio

Walleye run

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the annual walleye run up the Maumee River is one of the largest migrations of riverbound walleyes east of the Mississippi. The migration of the walleye normally starts in early March and runs through the end of April. Although the first week of April is "historically" the peak of the migration, it varies according to environmental conditions. When river flows rise due to snow melt-off and the river water temperature reaches 40 - 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the migration begins. Walleye come to spawn from the western end of Lake Erie, and the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair in Michigan. The most popular method of fishing for the migrating walleye is by wading out into the river and casting.

Cities and towns along the river

The Veterans' Glass City Skyway in Toledo, Ohio.

Toledo, Ohio

The river in Grand Rapids, Ohio.

Fort Wayne, Indiana.

• Antwerp, Ohio
• Defiance, Ohio
• Florida, Ohio
• Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Grand Rapids, Ohio
• Maumee, Ohio
• Napoleon, Ohio
• New Haven, Indiana
• Perrysburg, Ohio
• Rossford, Ohio
• Toledo, Ohio
• Waterville, Ohio

See also

• Great Black Swamp
• List of Indiana rivers
• List of Ohio rivers
• USS Maumee (AO-2) — a fleet oiler built in 1915.

Further reading

• Arthur Benke & Colbert Cushing, "Rivers of North America". Elsevier Academic Press, 2005 ISBN 0-12-088253-1

References

1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 19, 2011
2. ^ 7 Stat. 49 - Text of Treaty of Greenville Library of Congress
3. ^ 7 Stat. 105 - Text of Treaty of Detroit Library of Congress
4. ^ 7 Stat. 160 - Text of Treaty of Fort Meigs Library of Congress
5. ^ "Maumee River Area of Concern". http://epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/maumee.html. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
6. ^ Google Maps
7. ^ Toledo Metroparks

1. Google Map of the Maumee River
2. Sidecut Metropark History

External links

• Maumee River Wakeboard & Ski Site
• Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor
• EPA Maumee River site
• Maumee River Basin Commission (Indiana)
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Maumee River

Coordinates: 41°41′58″N 83°42′7″W / 41.69944°N 83.70194°W / 41.69944; -83.70194