Pine River (Chippewa River tributary)

For other rivers in Michigan named Pine, see Pine River (Michigan).
Pine River
The Pine River in Alma
Map of the Saginaw River watershed showing the Pine River as one of its major tributaries
Map of the Saginaw River watershed showing the Pine River as one of its major tributaries
Location
CountryUnited States
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationWheatland Township, Mecosta County, Michigan
Mouth 
 • location
Chippewa River
 • elevation
600 ft (180 m)[1]
Length103 mi (166 km)
Discharge 
 • locationmouth
 • average368.7 cu ft/s (10.44 m3/s) (estimate)[2]
Basin features
River systemSaginaw River

The Pine River is a 103-mile-long (166 km)[3] river in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The Pine River is a tributary of the Chippewa River and is thus part of the Saginaw River drainage basin.

The river rises in Wheatland Township in southeast Mecosta County at 43°35′09″N 85°08′34″W / 43.58583°N 85.14278°W / 43.58583; -85.14278 (Pine River (source)).[1] It flows southeast into southwest Isabella County. It turns south through northeast Montcalm County and Gratiot County, where it turns to the northeast, continuing through the cities of Alma and St. Louis. It enters Midland County and joins the Chippewa River at 43°36′06″N 84°17′33″W / 43.60167°N 84.29250°W / 43.60167; -84.29250 (Pine River (mouth))[1] approximately two miles before the Chippewa joins the Tittabawassee River on the west side of the city of Midland.

The river was contaminated by the Michigan Chemical Corporation (later Velsicol Chemical Corporation) in St. Louis and has been subject to extensive clean-up efforts.[4]

  1. ^ a b c "Pine River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Pine River". WATERS GeoViewer. Archived from the original on 2021-07-06. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed November 7, 2011
  4. ^ Smith, Lindsey. "Michigan town looks forward to cleaning up mess left behind by chemical company". www.michiganradio.org. Michigan Radio. Retrieved 9 June 2020.