St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)

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Saint Joe River flowing west from Elkhart (top) through Osceola (middle) and into Mishawaka (bottom).

The St. Joseph River (locally known as the St. Joe) is a river, approximately 210 mi (338 km) long, in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan. It was enormously important in the days of Native Americans and the colonial settlement as a canoe route between Lake Michigan and the watershed of the Mississippi River. It is sometimes known as St. Joseph River of Lake Michigan to distinguish it from the nearby St. Joseph River in the Maumee River watershed.

1 Description
2 History
3 Cities and towns along the St. Joseph River
- 3.1 Indiana
- 3.2 Michigan
4 See also
5 External link

[edit] Description

It rises in southern Michigan in Hillsdale County near Baw Beese Lake, within 5 mi (8 km) of the headwaters of the St. Joseph River in the Maumee watershed. It follows a zigzag route generally westward across southern Michigan, dipping into northern Indiana. From its headwaters it flows initially northwest past Hillsdale into southeastern Calhoun County, then turns abruptly southwest to flow past Tekonsha, Union City, and Sherwood. At Three Rivers it is joined from the north by the Rocky and Portage Rivers, then 3 mi (5 km) further southwest by the Prairie River from the east.

It crosses into northern Indiana, flowing west through Elkhart and South Bend, where it turns abruptly to north to re-enter southwestern Michigan in southeastern Berrien County. In southwestern Michigan it follows a wide meandering route generally northwest through Niles and past Berrien Springs. It enters Lake Michigan between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, receiving the Paw Paw River from the north approximately 1 mi (1.6) km from its mouth on Lake Michigan.

Saint Joe River where it flows through downtown South Bend, Indiana and gives the city its name.

[edit] History

The river was one of the most significant early transportation routes both to Native Americans and to early French fur trappers in the Illinois Country. It furnished two different portages that allowed nearly continuous travel by canoe among different watersheds of the region. The first major transfer point was at its headwaters in southwestern Michigan, where it furnished a portage to the St. Joseph River of the Maumee River watershed, which drained into Lake Erie.

The second major transfer point was at South Bend, Indiana, where a short portage to the nearby Kankakee River allowed access to the Illinois River and subsequently to the Mississippi.

Another major access point along river was at Niles, Michigan, where the Old Sauk Trail, a major east-west Indian trail crossed the river. The French established Fort St. Joseph there in 1691.