The Elk River is a short river in the Lake Michigan

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. It is only in lengthU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed November 21, 2011 and flows from Elk Lake into

Grand Traverse Bay Grand Traverse Bay is a deep bay of Lake Michigan formed by the Leelanau Peninsula in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is long, wide, and up to deep in spots. It is further divided into two east and west arms by the Ol ...

of Lake Michigan. It forms a waterway and harbor for the municipality of Elk Rapids. Elk Lake is deep and is a former arm of Lake Michigan. When the larger lake's level dropped, a belt of sediment separated Elk Lake from Grand Traverse Bay, and a short,

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

river, Elk River, formed to provide drainage for the smaller lake. The Indians named the river ''Meguzee'', in honor of the

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...

name for the bald eagle. In the early 19th century, Euro-American settlers arrived. In 1858, someone discovered a pair of

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

antlers in the rapids; the rapids, river, and lake were renamed after the dead animal."The Village & Township of Elk Rapids", Elk Rapids, Mich., accessed August 9, 200

/ref> The rapids are quiet now, as a

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

has been built. Boats must portage the dam, using adjacent boat ramps. Below the dam, the river opens out into Grand Traverse Bay and forms the harbor of Elk Rapids.

References

External links

Map of Elk River, with location of dam
{{authority control Rivers of Antrim County, Michigan Rivers of Michigan Tributaries of Lake Michigan

See also

References

External links