| Saint Clair River | |
|---|---|
 Sentinel-2 satellite photo, showingLake Saint Clair (center), as well as St. Clair River connecting it to Lake Huron (to the North) andDetroit River connecting it toLake Erie (to the South) | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Countries | Canada, United States |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Lake Huron |
| Mouth | |
• location | Lake St. Clair |
| Length | 40.5 mi (65.2 km) |
| Basin size | 223,600 sq mi (579,000 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 182,000 cu ft/s (5,200 m3/s) |
TheSt. Clair River is a 40.5-mile-long (65.2 km)[1] river in central North America which flows fromLake Huron intoLake St. Clair, forming part of theinternational boundary between Canada and the United States and between theCanadian province ofOntario and theU.S. state ofMichigan. The river is a significant component in theGreat Lakes Waterway, whose shipping channels permit cargo vessels to travel between the upper and lowerGreat Lakes. The St. ClairDelta, also called the St. Clair Flats, is the largest freshwater delta in the world.[2][3][4]
The river, which some consider astrait,[5][6] flows in a southerly direction, connecting the southern end ofLake Huron to the northern end ofLake St. Clair. It branches into severalchannels near its mouth at Lake St. Clair, creating a broaddelta region known as theSt. Clair Flats.[7] Like a strait, the river serves as a narrow strip of water which connects two larger bodies of water.[5][6]
The river is 40.5 miles (65.2 km) long[1] and drops 5 feet (2 m) in elevation from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair. The flow rate averages around 182,000 cubic feet per second (5,200 m3/s), and thedrainage area is 223,600 square miles (579,000 km2).[8] This takes into account the combined drainage areas ofLakes Huron,Michigan, andSuperior.
Generations of indigenous cultures traveled by canoe on the lakes and rivers in this area, carrying on trade across the region and continent.
In the 18th century,Frenchvoyageurs andcoureurs des bois traveled on the river to trade with theOjibwa and other regional Native Americans and transport furs incanoes to major posts of French and British traders, includingFort Detroit, built in 1701 downriver from Lake St. Clair on the Detroit River. European demand for American furs, especiallybeaver, was high until the 1830s.
During the mid-19th century and later,Port Huron andMarine City, Michigan, became major shipbuilding centers, especially the latter. Lumber harvested onThe Thumb of Michigan was shipped downriver as log rafts toDetroit for processing and export both domestically and internationally. The wooden ships built along the river carried migrants and immigrants up the river and west through the upper Great Lakes on their way to new homes in the American West. Their farms later shipped out grain to eastern markets as part of the developing area.
Beginning in the late 19th century, iron ore mined in the Mesabi Range, copper and grain were carried east through the lakes bylake freighters, increasingly made of steel in the 20th century, traveled throughout the Great Lakes, transporting commodities such asiron ore from theMesabi Range,copper, andgrain, all products of settlers' labor. Iron was taken toAshtabula, Ohio and other industrial cities for processing andsteel manufacture, and grain was often shipped through to major eastern markets such asCleveland andNew York City.
From the late 19th century, lake steamers carried passengers and traveled among the small towns along the St. Clair andDetroit rivers, and around the Great Lakes. At one time 31 lines operated, but with the rise of automobile use in the 20th century, they gradually declined.
The St. Clair River and itsLambton County tributaries in Ontario contribute 103,210 acres (41,770 ha) to thewatershed. This figure does not include theSydenham River watershed. In Michigan, theBlack,Pine, andBelle rivers drain 780,600 acres (315,900 ha) inLapeer,Macomb,Sanilac, andSt. Clair counties; the watersheds aroundBunce Creek andMarine City are relatively small.
Most of the watershed away from the river in Ontario and Michigan is used foragriculture. There were numeroussugar beet farms in the flatlands, and an annual beet market was held inMarine City, Michigan, for years at harvest time. Many of the 19th-century English immigrants to this area came fromLincolnshire, England, where sugar beets were a majorcommodity crop in the 19th and 20th centuries.
A fewforest andwetland areas have survived. Their area has declined significantly since European-American settlement, clearing, and development of cultivated fields for various agricultural crops.
Much of the shoreline on both sides of the St. Clair River isurbanized and extensivelyindustrialized. Intensive development has occurred in and near the adjacent cities ofPort Huron, Michigan andSarnia,Ontario, at the northern end of the river. The most dense concentration of industry, including a largepetrochemical complex, lies along the Ontario shore south ofSarnia. Historically Sarnia was founded as a fur trading post.
Several communities along the St. Clair rely on the river as their primary source ofdrinking water. About one-third to one-half of the residents of Michigan receive their water from the St. Clair/Detroit River waterway.[citation needed] Industries includingpetroleum refineries, chemical manufacturers,paper mills,salt producers, and electricpower plants also need high-quality water for their operations. Since the late 20th century and passage of environmental laws to protect air and water quality, there have been occasional incidents when some of these industries have illegally contaminated river waters after dischargingpollutants. Major clean-up activities were required.
Land areas of the St. Clair Rivershoreline andflats consist of two biological zones: upland and transitional, both of which are normally above thewater table, but which may beflooded periodically.
The upland forests consist ofdeciduous species, many of which are near their northern climatic limit. Most pre-European settlement trees have been cleared for agriculture, industry, or urbanization. Remaining forest stands, such asoak savannas as well as lakeplain prairies, are found along the southern reaches of the river, particularly on the islands of the St. Clair River Delta and on the Michigan shore inAlgonac State Park.
Transitional species are abundant in the low-lying regions, categorized asshrubecotones, wetmeadows,sedge marshes, and island shorelines andbeaches. Thishabitat is home to water and landmammals, including humans, as well assongbirds,waterfowl,insects,pollinators,reptiles, andamphibians.
Theaquatic habitat of the St. Clair River ranges from deep and fast near theBlue Water Bridge to shallow and slow in the lower river near its discharge point into Lake St. Clair.
Each area provides a unique habitat for aquatic life:
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The St. Clair River is a binationalArea of Concern (AOC)[10] that borders both the United States and Canada. An AOC is an area within the Great Lakes, that has suffered from environmental destruction. The St. Clair River has been considered an AOC because conventional pollutants such asbacteria,heavy metals,toxic organics, contaminatedsediment, fish consumption advisories, impacted animal and plant life, and beach closings.[11]
The United States found that 10 out of 14 of thebeneficial use impairments (BUI) were impaired, which would lead to a $21 million investment from theGreat Lakes Restoration Initiative.[11] After several habitat projects, only two impairments exists: the Restrictions on Fish and Wildlife Consumption and the Restrictions on Drinking Water Consumption or Taste and Odor Problems.
A beneficial use impairment is a change within the physical, biological, and chemical consistency that causes significantenvironmental degradation.[12] The St. Clair River has undergone several projects and clean up to remove the BUIs that affected the area. There are currently only 2 BUIs left on the St. Clair River, and once those 2 are removed, the river might go through the delisting process.
Source:[11]
The St. Clair River AOC includes the entire river, from the Blue Water Bridge at the north end, to the southern tip of Seaway Island, west toSt. Johns Marsh and east to include the north shore ofMitchells Bay on Lake St. Clair.Anchor Bay is not included.
Through the Great Lakes Agreement, aRemedial Action Plan (RAP) was created to initiate cleanup measures. Its background report noted the adverse effects of pollution in the river and lakes:
According to the Stage 1 Remedial Action Plan (RAP), the reasons for the Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat beneficial use impairment (BUI) in the St. Clair River were general loss of the aquatic plant community due to industrial, agricultural, recreational, and urban developments. A large blob ofperchloroethylene was found at the bottom of the St Clair River due to runoff from Dow Chemical Corp in 1985. It remains there, slowly mixing with the water.[13]
The RAP for the St. Clair River AOC was initiated in 1985. A bi-national group called the RAP Team, which included representatives from federal, state, and provincial governments of both Canada and the United States was established in 1987 to develop the plan and to ensure adequate and appropriate public involvement.
Federal officials have long acknowledged that dredging and riverbed mining in the St. Clair dropped the long-term average of Great Lakes Huron and Michigan by about 16 inches. A bi-national Great Lakes water-level study concluded in 2013 that unexpected erosion since the last major St. Clair dredging project in the early 1960s has dropped the lakes' long-term average by an additional 3 to 5 inches. Today, these lakes are nearly 2 feet lower than before human modifications to the riverbed of the St. Clair River. This record low has raised concerns about the long-term health of the lakes. Activists urge remediation to slow the flow of waters through the St. Clair River and out of the lake system, to restore former water levels.[14] However, as of October 2020, the Lake Huron water is averaging 581.5 feet above sea level,[15] which is considerably above the Datum of 577.5 feet, and above the Mean Long-Term Water Level of 578.8 feet.[16]
This is a list ofbridges and other crossings of the St. Clair River fromLake St. Clair upstream toLake Huron.
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| Topics | .jpg) | |
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| Detroit | ||
| Municipalities over 80,000 | ||
| Municipalities 40,000 to 80,000 | ||
| Cultural enclaves | ||
| Satellite cities | ||
| Counties in MSA | ||
| Counties in CSA | ||
Central/Mid-Michigan including the Tri-Cities and Thumb | |||||||
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| Central cities | |||||||
| Counties |
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| Geography | |||||||
| Transportation | |||||||
| Economy | |||||||
Parks inmetropolitan Detroit | ||
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| Detroit city |
|  |
| Metro 600 to 1,500 acres (243 to 607 ha) | ||
| 1,500 to 5,000 acres (607 to 2,023 ha) | ||
| over 5,000 acres (2,023 ha) | ||
| Waterways | ||
| Major beaches | ||
| Trails 5 to 36 miles (8 to 58 km) | ||
| Zoological and botanical | ||
42°31′59″N82°40′29″W / 42.53306°N 82.67472°W /42.53306; -82.67472
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
