Tahquamenon River

Tahquamenon River
The Upper Falls on the Tahquamenon River
Map of the Tahquamenon River watershed
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationColumbus Township, Luce County, Michigan
 • coordinates46°28′59″N 85°50′43″W / 46.48304°N 85.84514°W / 46.48304; -85.84514[1]
Mouth 
 • location
Emerson, Michigan
Lake Superior
 • coordinates
46°33′18″N 85°01′46″W / 46.55502°N 85.02953°W / 46.55502; -85.02953
Length89 mi (143 km)
Basin size820 sq mi (2,100 km2)
Official nameTahquamenon (East Branch)
TypeWild, Recreational
DesignatedMarch 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.

  1. ^ "Tahquamenon River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed January 3, 2012