The Manistique River ( ') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed December 19, 2011

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

that winds southward through the central

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

from its headwaters near

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

to its mouth in

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. It drains approximately of the Upper Peninsula, including most of

Schoolcraft County Schoolcraft County ( ) is a county located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 8,047, making it Michigan's fourth-least populous county. The county seat is Manistique, which lies alo ...

and small portions of

Alger County Alger County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 8,842. Its county seat is Munising, Michigan, Munising. The Pictured ...

, Delta County, Luce County, and

Mackinac County Mackinac County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 10,834. The county seat is St. Ignace, Michigan, St. Ignace. Forme ...

. The river rises at the outlet of

Manistique Lake Manistique Lake, locally called Big Manistique Lake to distinguish it from the other lakes in the Manistique Lakes system, is a lake in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Approximately long and wide, it is one of the largest la ...

in the southwest corner of Luce County, and after flowing through the

Seney National Wildlife Refuge The Seney National Wildlife Refuge is a managed wetland in Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It has an area of 95,212 acres (385 km2). It is bordered by M-28 and M-77. The nearest town of any size is Seney, Michigan. The ...

, empties into

Manistique, Michigan Manistique, formerly Monistique, is the only city and county seat of Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 2,828. The city borders the adjacent Manistique Township, but the two are ...

. M-77, a north–south highway, serves much of the Manistique River's

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditio ...

and crosses the river and its tributaries several times.

Boreal forest wetlands

The drainage of the Manistique River is very flat and

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

y. The river is not characterized by rapids or waterfalls. Instead, it wriggles along an

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

bed of sand and

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

eroded and redeposited by the river itself. The Manistique River's drainage was one of the last zones in Michigan to be clear cut, with old-growth timber being felled as late as the 1910s. The watershed was then abandoned or reverted to state and federal ownership. , 93% of the drainage was forested, largely with second-growth trees such as

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

. More than one-half, 58%, of the drainage was owned by the federal government or the state of Michigan. Governmental ownership units included the Seney National Wildlife Refuge,

Hiawatha National Forest Hiawatha National Forest is a National Forest in the Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan in the United States. Commercial logging is conducted in some areas. The United States Forest Service administers this National Forest; it is physical ...

, and

Lake Superior State Forest Lake Superior State Forest is a state forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The North Country Trail utilizes this state forest for 43 miles (69 km) of its route. The Lake ...

Lakes

Major lakes drained by the Manistique River include Indian Lake north of Manistique,

in the central Upper Peninsula, and two tributary lakes, North Manistique Lake and South Manistique Lake. The lakes have several

motorboat A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...

ramps.

Recreation

Because the Manistique River is relatively slow and flat through much of its length, it is a favorite for novice-to-intermediate-level

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

ists and

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

ers.

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

ing for bass,

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

, and

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

is popular. A small population of

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

challenges anglers.

Environmental conditions

Great Lakes Area of Concern

Due to environmental contamination, a portion of the river was designated a Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1987. The designated site includes the lowermost portion of the Manistique River downstream of a dam in the city of Manistique, as well as the Manistique harbor at the mouth of the river on Lake Michigan. Sediments at the site contained high levels of

polychlorinated biphenyl Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...

s (PCBs) and

heavy metals upright=1.2, Crystals of osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead Heavy metals are generally defined as ...

resulting from historical pollution by sawmills, a paper mill, and small industries along the river. A 1996 remedial action plan for the AOC identified five "beneficial use impairments" caused by the pollution: * restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption due to PCBs and heavy metals in sediments * degradation of

benthos Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone. which was first documented in the 1950s and has been attributed to wood fibers and waste deposited by sawmill and paper mill operations, combined sewer overflows, and chemical wastes * restrictions on

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

activities due to high levels of PCBs and heavy metals including

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

, and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

in sediments * beach closings or potential restrictions on body contact due to the potential for high bacterial levels caused by combined sewer overflows * loss of fish and wildlife habitat, including impacts on the site's coldwater fishery Three of these impairments have been removed from the designation (degradation of benthos in 2006, loss of fish and wildlife habitat in 2008, and beach closings in 2009) following remediation projects, which have included placement of temporary caps over contaminated areas and dredging of contaminated sediment, beginning in the 1990s.

Sea lamprey

A 1996 report identified the Manistique River as having the largest run of invasive

sea lamprey The sea lamprey (''Petromyzon marinus'') is a parasitic lamprey native to the Northern Hemisphere. It is sometimes referred to as the "vampire fish". Description The sea lamprey has an eel-like body without paired fins. Its mouth is jawless, ro ...

in Lake Michigan, and a 2007 survey identified the river as the second-largest source of sea lamprey larvae in the Lake Michigan watershed. Lampreys historically were prevented from swimming upstream of the lowermost portion of the river by a dam in the city of Manistique, built in 1919. Deterioration of the dam has made it less effective as a barrier to sea lamprey, and the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with oth ...

and other agencies have developed plans to install a sea lamprey barrier at the site.

References

External links

Hunts' Guide
{{Authority control Rivers of Michigan Rivers of Schoolcraft County, Michigan Rivers of Alger County, Michigan Rivers of Delta County, Michigan Rivers of Luce County, Michigan Rivers of Mackinac County, Michigan Tributaries of Lake Michigan