Vermilion River (Ohio)

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Vermilion River
The Vermilion River at the community of Birmingham in Erie County
Origin	Bailey Lakes, Ohio
Mouth	Lake Erie at Vermilion, Ohio
Basin countries	United States
Length	59 mi (95 km)
Basin area	268 mi² (694 km²)

A marina on the Vermilion River at the city of Vermilion

The Vermilion River is a river in northern Ohio in the United States. It is 59 mi (95 km) long^[1] and is a tributary of Lake Erie, draining an area of 268 mi² (694 km²).^[2] The name alludes to the reddish clay that is the predominant local soil along its route. The river is commonly muddy after rains.

A pleasure boat harbor is located along the river near its mouth at Lake Erie.^[3]

1 Course
2 Variant names
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Course

The Vermilion River flows from Mud Lake in the town of Bailey Lakes in Ashland County and follows a generally northward course through Huron, Erie and Lorain Counties, past the towns of Savannah and Wakeman. It enters Lake Erie in Erie County at the city of Vermilion.^[4]

A short distance before the river enters Lake Erie, near State Route 2, it passes through a deep gorge. The Vermillion rest area along the northern (westbound) side of Route 2 features a short nature trail leading to an overview of the gorge.

Three short tributaries are known as branches or forks of the Vermilion River. The Southwest Branch Vermilion River^[5] and the East Branch Vermilion River^[6] join the Vermilion in Huron County. The East Fork Vermilion River^[7] rises in Lorain County and joins the Vermilion in Erie County.^[4]

[edit] Variant names

The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "Vermilion River" as the stream's official name in 1899. According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Vermilion River has also been known as:^[8]