Tahquamenon River | |
---|---|
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Columbus Township, Luce County, Michigan |
• coordinates | 46°28′59″N 85°50′43″W / 46.48304°N 85.84514°W[1] |
Mouth | |
• location | Emerson, Michigan Lake Superior |
• coordinates | 46°33′18″N 85°01′46″W / 46.55502°N 85.02953°W |
Length | 89 mi (143 km) |
Basin size | 820 sq mi (2,100 km2) |
Official name | Tahquamenon (East Branch) |
Type | Wild, Recreational |
Designated | March 3, 1992 |
The Tahquamenon River (/təˈkwɑːmənɒn, -nən/ tə-KWAH-mə-non, -nən) is an 89.1-mile-long (143.4 km)[2] blackwater river in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river flows in a generally eastward direction from the Tahquamenon Lakes of Columbus Township, Luce County to its mouth at Whitefish Bay, a bay of Lake Superior, in Chippewa County. It drains approximately 820 square miles (2,120 km2) of the eastern Upper Peninsula, including large sections of Chippewa and Luce counties, as well as a small portion of Mackinac County. M-123 runs alongside a portion of the river.
Along its course, the river includes the Tahquamenon Falls, a pair of waterfalls that are the largest waterfalls in Michigan, and one of the largest in the eastern half of North America.