Maumee River

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Maumee River
The Maumee River at Grand Rapids, Ohio
The Maumee River at Grand Rapids, Ohio
Origin Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys.
Mouth Lake Erie
Basin countries USA
Length 130 mi (209 km)
Source elevation 750 ft (229 m)
Mouth elevation 571 ft (174 m)
Avg. discharge 5,297 ft³/s (150 m³/s)
Basin area 6,354 mi² (16,458 km²)

The Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for about 130 mi (209 km) through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into Maumee Bay, Lake Erie at the City of Toledo, Ohio. It was designated an Ohio State Scenic River on July 18, 1974.

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[edit] History

Historically the river was also known as the "Miami" and in treaties with Native Americans, and as early as 1671 the river was called Miami of the Lake (in contrast to the "Miami of the Ohio" or the Great Miami River) or in French, Miami du Lac. Maumee is a form of the Native American word Me-ah-me, of which Miami is another form. Another theory behind the name is that the word Maumee comes from the Chippewa word Omaumeg, which means people who live on the peninsula.The Battle of Fallen Timbers, the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, was fought 3/4 mile (1.2 km) north of the banks of the Maumee River. After this decisive victory for General Anthony Wayne, all of the greater Maumee River Valley area was ceded to the United States in 1795. Prior to the development of canals, portages between the rivers were important trade routes and were safeguarded by forts such as Fort Loramie, Fort Recovery, and Fort Defiance. In honor of General Wayne's victory on the banks of the Maumee, the primary bridge crossing the river near downtown Toledo is the Anthony Wayne Suspension Bridge.

A dispute over control of the Maumee River region led to the so-called Toledo War between Ohio and the Michigan Territory.

[edit] Natural History

The watershed of the Maumee River was a large wetland known as the Great Black Swamp before it was mostly drained and converted into farmland. The wetland was the remains of Glacial Lake Maumee, the proglacial ancestor of Lake Erie.

[edit] Transportation

The mouth of the river at Lake Erie is wide and supports considerable commercial traffic, including oil, grain, and coal. However, about 12 miles upstream, in the town of Maumee, Ohio, the river becomes much shallower and supports only recreational navigation above that point. The abandoned Miami and Erie Canal paralleled the Maumee between Defiance, Ohio and Toledo; portions of its towpath are currently maintained for recreational use.

[edit] Watershed

The Maumee has the largest watershed of any Great Lakes river with 6,354 mi² (16,458 km²) draining into the Maumee River. Its watershed includes a portion of southern Michigan. In addition to its source tributaries the St. Joseph and St. Marys Rivers, the Maumee's principal tributaries are the Auglaize River and the Tiffin River, which join it at Defiance from the south and north, respectively.

[edit] Walleye run

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the annual walleye run up the Maumee River is one of the largest migrations of riverbound walleyes east of the Mississippi. The migration of the walleye normally starts in early March and runs through the end of April. Although the first week of april is "historically" the peak of the migration, Mother Nature normally dictates when the actual peak takes place. When river flows rise due to snow melt-off and the river water temperature reaches 40 - 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the resident population of walleyes welcome their relatives from the Western end of Lake Erie's waters and also from the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair in Michigan. Although you will see boats on the river during the spring migration, by far the most popular method of fishing for these walleye is by wading out into the river and casting.

[edit] Cities and towns along the river

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

Arthur Benke & Colbert Cushing, "Rivers of North America". Elsevier Academic Press, 2005 ISBN 0-12-088253-1

[edit] External links

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