Little Thornapple River (Coldwater River tributary)

This article is about the tributary of the Coldwater River. For the river in Eaton County, Michigan, see Little Thornapple River (Eaton County).
Little Thornapple River
Map
Location
CountryUnited States
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationJordan Lake in Woodland Township, Barry County, Michigan
Mouth 
 • location
Coldwater River
 • elevation
797 ft (243 m)[1]
Discharge 
 • locationmouth
 • average45.2 cu ft/s (1.28 m3/s) (estimate)[2]
Basin features
River systemGrand River

Little Thornapple River is a 5.8-mile-long (9.3 km)[3] river in Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan.

The Little Thornapple rises from the outflow of Jordan Lake[4] in north-central Woodland Township at 42°45′38″N 85°08′43″W / 42.76056°N 85.14528°W / 42.76056; -85.14528 (Little Thornapple River (source)).[1]

The stream flows primarily to the southwest and empties into the Coldwater River in central Carlton Township at 42°42′50″N 85°13′41″W / 42.71389°N 85.22806°W / 42.71389; -85.22806 (Little Thornapple River (mouth)).[1]

The Little Thornapple, with Jordan Lake tributaries, forms an important part of the upper Coldwater River watershed.[5][6] The Little Thornapple is considered to form the headwaters of the Coldwater River.[7]

Lake Jordan is fed primarily by the outflow of Tupper Lake,[8] which in turn is fed by Tupper Creek[9] all in Odessa and Sebewa townships in Ionia County.

  1. ^ a b c "Little Thornapple River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Little Thornapple River". watersgeo.epa.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 19, 2011
  4. ^ "Jordan Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  5. ^ Fongers, Dave (October 24, 2003). "Coldwater River Watershed Hydrologic Study" (PDF). Hydrologic Studies Unit, Geological and Land Management Division, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  6. ^ Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University (2002). "Coldwater River Watershed Management Atlas" (PDF). Coldwater River Watershed Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2004. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  7. ^ Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University (December 30, 2004). "Coldwater River Watershed Management Plan" (PDF). Coldwater River Watershed Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  8. ^ "Tupper Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  9. ^ "Tupper Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.