The Tippecanoe River ( ) is a gentle, U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed May 19, 2011 river in the Central Corn Belt Plains ecoregion in northern

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. It flows from Crooked Lake in Noble County to the

Wabash River The Wabash River (French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows from ...

near what is now Battle Ground, about northeast of Lafayette. The name "Tippecanoe" was derived from a Miami-Illinois word for

buffalo fish ''Ictiobus'', also known as buffalofish or simply buffalo, is a genus of freshwater fish native to North America, specifically the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala. They are the largest and longest-lived of the North American sucke ...

, reconstructed as ''*/kiteepihkwana/'' or as kiteepihkwana siipiiwi. The Tippecanoe River is fed by 88 natural lakes and has a drainage area of , spanning 14 counties. It supports more numerous imperiled species and overall species diversity than most streams of the upper Midwest. The Nature Conservancy has identified it as one of the top ten rivers in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

to preserve due to its ecological diversity and the high proportion of

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

found in it.

Course

The Tippecanoe River originates from multiple kettle lakes formed by ancient glaciers in what is now

Noble County, Indiana Noble County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 47,457. The county seat is Albion. The county is divided into 13 townships which provide local services. Noble County comprises the K ...

. Numerous dams were built along its length, to create lakes and ponds for water power. The river flows west into Wilmot Pond, which is formed by a small dam on its western side. After Wilmot, it crosses into Kosciusko County and enters Backwaters Lake, the basin of Webster Lake. After going over the dam at Webster Lake, the river travels a few miles and enters Tippecanoe Lake. From there the river flows south and west through the southeast corner of Marshall County, then bends northwest through the northern part of Fulton County and through Pulaski County, from the northeast corner to the south central portion, traversing

Tippecanoe River State Park Tippecanoe River is a state park in Pulaski County, Indiana, United States. It is located south-southwest of South Bend, Indiana. It was formed in 1943 when the National Park Service gifted the land to Indiana's Department of Conservation land ...

along the way. It enters White County, where dams form Lake Freeman and Lake Shafer. The river exits Lake Freeman from the south and flows through the west part of Carroll County into Tippecanoe County, where it joins the Wabash River. In addition to Tippecanoe County, five townships through which the river flows are named Tippecanoe: *

Tippecanoe Township, Carroll County, Indiana Tippecanoe Township is one of fourteen townships in Carroll County, Indiana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,341 and it contained 1,186 housing units. History Tippecanoe Township was organized in 1830. Carrollton Bridge was listed ...

* Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana *

Tippecanoe Township, Marshall County, Indiana Tippecanoe Township is one of ten townships in Marshall County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,313 and it contained 542 housing units. History Tippecanoe Township was organized in 1842. It was named from it ...

* Tippecanoe Township, Pulaski County, Indiana * Tippecanoe Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana

History

The

Battle of Tippecanoe The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and Native American forces associated with Shawnee leader Tecum ...

, in which

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

defeated the Indian confederacy of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

, occurred near the south bank of the river. Modern Lafayette developed near this site.

Aquatic Life

The Upper Tippecanoe River continues to have habitat suitable for

unionid The Unionidae are a family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionida, the bivalve molluscs sometimes known as river mussels, or simply as unionids. The range of distribution for this family is world-wide. It is at its most diverse ...

(freshwater mussel) species. The rivershed has retained much of its natural condition, continuing to provide a high quality habitat for freshwater mussels. Surveys done since 1903 show that the waterway continues to support 57 species of mussels. Modern changes in the surrounding land use and dredging the river channel affect the silt levels and stream flow, which threaten the mussel populations. Of the existing species, several are state listed as endangered, including the northern riffleshell (Epioblasma Torulosa rangiana), the wavyrayed lampmussel ( Lampsilis fasciola), the kidneyshell (

Ptychobranchus fasciolaris ''Ptychobranchus fasciolaris'' is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Its common name is kidneyshell. Distribution and conservation status This species is native to eastern North America, where its range ...

), and the purple lilliput (

Toxolasma lividus ''Toxolasma'' is a genus of freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve mollusks in the family Unionidae The Unionidae are a family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionida, the bivalve molluscs sometimes known as river mussels, or s ...

) The clubshell (

Pleurobema clava ''Pleurobema clava'', the clubshell, club naiad or clubshell pearly mussel, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This species is endemic to the United States. It is a federal ...

) is a federally endangered specie. The river fishery is similar to the early 1900s, even with the changes in river use and the increase in urban and agricultural use. Survey's done in the early 21st century found representatives of 14 families and 54 species of fishes. Nearly 80% of collected fish are game fish species, including:

Largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, ...

(Micropterus salmoides),

Yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...

(Perca flavescens),

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 ...

(Stizostedion vitreum),

Muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskell ...

(Esox masquinongy),

Bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds an ...

(Lepomis macrochirus),

Channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

(Ictalurus punctatus),

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

(Oncorhynchus mykiss),

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

and

Black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black ...

(Pomoxis annularis and P. nigromaculatus), Longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis),

Northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...

(Esox lucius),

Rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish ...

(Ambloplites rupestris),

White bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

(Morone chrysops) and

Warmouth The warmouth (''Lepomis gulosus'') is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) that is found throughout the eastern United States. Other local names include molly, redeye, goggle-eye, red-eyed bream, and strawberry perch. Descript ...

(Lepomis gulosus). Bluegills were the dominant fish, being 50% of the river population.Upper Tippecanoe River Watershed Management Plan; Tippecanoe Environmental Lake & Watershed Foundation; North Webster, Indiana; J8uly 31, 2006; pg 2.21-2.22

Dams

In the 1920s, two dams were built along the Tippecanoe River to produce electricity. *Oakdale Hydro Plant, built in 1925, created Lake Freeman. Lake Freeman reached north through

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

. It provides 9.2 MW of power through

NiSource NiSource Inc. is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.5 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands ...

. Lake Freeman is held at above sealevel. *Norway Hydro Plant, built in 1925, created Lake Shafer. Lake Shafer reached north from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. It provides 7.2 MW of power through

. Lake Shafer is held at above sealevel.

References

External links