The Looking Glass River in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
flowing through the central region of the
Lower Peninsula
The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...
. It is about long,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed May 19, 2011 has no dams, and borders many wetlands and woodlots.
Name
Nineteenth-century sources have transcribed the alternate name of Wabenasebee for the river. That name may refer to the large
Chippewa settlement of Wabwahnahseepee that had existed, just north of modern
De Witt, when European settlers first arrived.
Course
It rises in
Conway Township in northeast
Livingston County and flows north into
Shiawassee County, passing between
Morrice and
Bancroft as it turns westward and passes just south of
Laingsburg on the western edge of Shiawassee. It then runs through the southern portion of
Clinton County Clinton County may refer to:
*Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States:
**Clinton County, New York
** Clinton County, Ohio
*Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, ...
, including
DeWitt. It flows into the
Grand River in
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
in southeast
Ionia County
Ionia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 66,804. The county seat is Ionia. The Ionia County Courthouse was designed by Claire Allen, a prominent southern Michigan architect.
Ion ...
.
The stream starts as a slow soft-bottom waterway. On the between the Livingston County line and Laingsburg the river averages wide. There is more activity in the lower stretch below DeWitt, where there is good fishing and canoeing.
Settlement history
The earliest known settlers of the Looking Glass Watershed were the
Sauk people
The Sauk or Sac are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group, who lived primarily in the region of what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin, when first encountered by the French in 1667. Their autonym is oθaakiiwaki, and th ...
who were eventually replaced by people of the Chippewa and
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
tribes. The area was highly regarded for its abundance of game and fish. White settlers came to the area following trails up the
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
and
Shiawassee rivers inland from
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
and
Port Huron
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately.
Located along the St. Clair ...
.
Conservation
In Clinton County, the river flows through the A Looking Glass Sanctuary, a nature preserve owned by the
Michigan Nature Association
Michigan Nature Association is a nonprofit conservation organization established in 1952. It has 176 nature sanctuaries in 58 counties throughout Michigan under its jurisdiction.
History
In 1951, a bird study group in the Macomb County
Mac ...
.
A Looking Glass Sanctuary
Michigan Nature Association
Fish
References
Rivers of Michigan
Rivers of Livingston County, Michigan
Rivers of Shiawassee County, Michigan
Rivers of Clinton County, Michigan
Rivers of Ionia County, Michigan
Tributaries of Lake Michigan
{{IoniaCountyMI-geo-stub