| St. Joseph River Little St. Joseph River, Bean Creek, Kochisahsepe | |
|---|---|
 Map of the Maumee River watershed showing the St. Joseph River. | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Hillsdale County, Michigan |
| • coordinates | 41°38′53″N84°33′56″W / 41.6480556°N 84.5655556°W /41.6480556; -84.5655556 (Saint Joseph River origin) |
| • elevation | 856 ft (261 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Maumee River,Ft. Wayne, Indiana |
• coordinates | 41°05′00″N85°07′56″W / 41.0833333°N 85.1322222°W /41.0833333; -85.1322222 (Saint Joseph River mouth) |
• elevation | 751 ft (229 m) |
| Length | 100 mi (160 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | West Branch St. Joseph River |
| • right | East Branch St. Joseph River |
| GNIS ID | 2678706 |
TheSt. Joseph River (Miami-Illinois: Kociihsasiipi)[1] is an 86.1-mile-long (138.6 km)[2] tributary of theMaumee River in northwesternOhio and northeasternIndiana in the United States, with headwater tributaries rising in southernMichigan. It drains a primarily rural farming region in the watershed ofLake Erie.
TheSt. Joseph River of Lake Michigan is an entirely separate river that rises in western Michigan, dips into Indiana, and flows west into Lake Michigan.
At the end of theWisconsin glaciation, the glacier's Erie Lobe retreated toward the northeast, leaving large debris deposits calledmoraines. The St. Joseph formed as a meltwater channel between the north limbs of two of these moraines, the Wabash Moraine on the west and the Fort Wayne Moraine on the east. At that time it joined theSt. Marys River to drain into theWabash River. Later, the shrinkage ofGlacial Lake Maumee, the ancestor of modern Lake Erie, brought about the opening of the modern Maumee River, whichcaptured the flow of the St. Joseph and the St. Marys, causing the St. Marys to reverse its course to meet the flow of the St. Joseph almost head-on.
The St. Joseph River forms in northernWilliams County, Ohio, at the confluence of the East and West branches at41°38′54″N84°33′55″W / 41.64833°N 84.56528°W /41.64833; -84.56528.[3][4][5] Both branches rise in southernHillsdale County, Michigan. The headwaters of the East Branch are within 3 miles (4.8 km) of those of theSt. Joseph River of Lake Michigan. Both branches initially flow southeast, then turn to the southwest to flow across the northwestern corner of Ohio pastMontpelier. The St. Joseph entersDe Kalb County in northeastern Indiana, flowing southwest pastSaint Joe and into the city ofFort Wayne, where it meets theSt. Marys River to form theMaumee River at41°04′58″N85°07′56″W / 41.08278°N 85.13222°W /41.08278; -85.13222.[6] The US Army Corps of Engineers built a flood control project in Fort Wayne that includes a floodwall and upper roadway along the St. Joseph River. (See photo)
From the mouth:
The St. Joseph River and tributaries drain all or portions of the following:
