Ecorse River

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The north branch at Council Point Park in Lincoln Park.

The Ecorse River is a small river in southern Michigan. It flows through the Downriver section of Metro Detroit and is a tributary of the Detroit River. It is sometimes identified as Ecorse Creek. The early French settlers named it the Rivière aux Écorces, meaning the "bark river". The river was given this name because of a custom, of the local Native American tribe, of wrapping its dead in birch or elm bark, and burying them at the mouth of the river. [1] The river has two branches, which meet at Council Point Park in the city of Lincoln Park, where Chief Pontiac once held a council in 1763 before attacking Fort Detroit.

The river has a very low gradient and is subject to heavy silting which worsens the seasonal flooding. Much of the watershed contains clay soil 20 to 65 feet (6 to 20 m) deep which limits ground absorption and 85% of the land in the entire watershed is developed as residential or commercial/industrial which decreases the available land surface for absorption. Homes near the river are required to carry flood insurance and damaging flooding is a common occurrence. A storm on May 21, 2004 that produced four inches (10 cm) of rain resulted in the river rising over six feet (1.8 m) in only three hours.

The river system consists of a 13-mile (21 km) long South Branch, including the Sexton-Kilfoil Drain, and a 16-mile (26 km) long North Branch which combine and run another 0.5 miles (0.8 km). Elevations run from 670 feet (204 m) in the northwest corner of the watershed to 575 feet (174 m) at the Detroit River. Over a year, it has a mean flow of 3.2 cubic feet per second. The Ecorse River has a watershed of 43.4 square miles (112 km²). The north branch drains 18.75 sq mi (48.6 km²) and has tributaries designated the Trouton Drain, Freeman Drain, Black Creek, and the Douglas and Kelly Drain. The north branch flows within The south branch has a drainage area of 12 sq mi (31 km²) and tributaries include the Grams Drain in Southgate, and the Brighton, Bondie, and the Sloss and Ganong Drains in Taylor. The rest of the watershed is drained by enclosed underground drains; the largest of which is the La Blanc Drain which enters the north branch about 500 feet (152 m) north of the junction of the north and south branches. The La Blanc Drain drains 12 square miles (31 km²).

The north branch flows through Romulus, Dearborn Heights, Allen Park, along a small portion of the southern border of Melvindale, Lincoln Park and then along the border of Lincoln Park and Ecorse. The south branch flows through Romulus, Taylor, Allen Park and Lincoln Park. It is joined by the Sexton and Kilfoil Drain in Taylor. After the two branches join in Lincoln Park, the river flows along the boundary between Ecorse and Wyandotte to its mouth on the Detroit River. A marina occupies both banks of the river at its mouth.

The Ecorse River flows into the Detroit River about midway along that river's course. The next river north of the Ecorse is the Rouge River while the next river south is the Huron River.

The watershed is heavily developed, with a population density of 3,711 people per square mile in 2000. It is also heavily industrialized with both light and heavy industry. Contamination is a problem, both from ongoing industrial and residential sources and as a legacy of the steel works along its lower length.