The Maumee River (pronounced ) ( sjw, Hotaawathiipi; mia, Taawaawa siipiiwi) 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 ...

running in the

United States Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

from northeastern

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 s ...

into northwestern

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

. It is formed at the confluence of the

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

and St. Marys rivers, where

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

has developed, and meanders northeastwardly for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 19, 2011 through an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

region of

glacial moraines A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

before flowing into the

Maumee Bay Maumee Bay on Lake Erie is located in the U.S. state of Ohio, just east of the city of Toledo. The bay and the surrounding wetlands form most of the Maumee River basin, and in 1975 part of the area was incorporated into Maumee Bay State Park. T ...

of Lake Erie. The city of Toledo is located at the mouth of the Maumee. The Maumee was designated an Ohio State Scenic River on July 18, 1974. The Maumee watershed is Ohio’s breadbasket; it is two-thirds farmland, mostly corn and soybeans. It is the largest watershed of any of the rivers feeding the Great Lakes, and supplies five percent of Lake Erie’s water.

History

Historically the river was also known as the ''Miami'' in United States treaties with Native Americans. As early as 1671, French colonists called the river 'Miami of the Lake' (in contrast to the ''Miami of the Ohio'' or the

Great Miami River The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accesse ...

, called in the

Miami-Illinois language Miami-Illinois (endonym: , ) also known as Irenwa, or Irenwe is an indigenous Algonquian language spoken in the United States, primarily in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, western Ohio and adjacent areas along the Mississippi River by the Miami ...

). ''Maumee'' is an

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

spelling of the Ottawa or Odawa name for the

Miami tribe The Miami ( Miami-Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is now identified as North-central Indi ...

, . The Odawa had a village at the mouth of the Maumee River and occupied other territory in northwestern Ohio, including along its tributary, the Blanchard River. The

Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States ...

, the final battle of the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwestern ...

, was fought north of the banks of the Maumee River. After this decisive victory for General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

, in 1795 Native Americans ceded a twelve-mile square tract around Perrysburg and Maumee to the United States by the

Treaty of Greenville The Treaty of Greenville, formally titled Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., was a 1795 treaty between the United States and indigenous nations of the Northwest Territory (now Midwestern United States), including the Wyandot and Delaware peoples, ...

. They ceded additional lands, north of the river and downstream of Defiance, in the 1807

Treaty of Detroit The Treaty of Detroit was a treaty between the United States and the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot and Potawatomi Native American nations. The treaty was signed in Detroit, Michigan on November 17, 1807, with William Hull, governor of the Mich ...

. They ceded the remainder of the Maumee River valley in the 1817

Treaty of Fort Meigs The Treaty of Fort Meigs, also called the Treaty of the Maumee Rapids, formally titled, "Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., 1817", was the most significant Indian treaty by the United States in Ohio since the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. It resulte ...

. Prior to the development of

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

s between the rivers were important trade routes. U.S. forces built

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s such as

Fort Loramie Fort Loramie is a village in Shelby County, Ohio, United States, along Loramie Creek, a tributary of the Great Miami River in southwestern Ohio. It is 42 mi. northnorthwest of Dayton and 20 mi. east of the Ohio/Indiana border. The pop ...

Fort Recovery Fort Recovery was a United States Army fort ordered built by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne during what is now termed the Northwest Indian War. Constructed from late 1793 and completed in March 1794, the fort was built along the Wabash River, wit ...

, and Fort Defiance along these routes. In honor of General Wayne's victory on the banks of the Maumee, the primary bridge crossing the river near downtown Toledo is named the Anthony Wayne Suspension Bridge. A dispute over control of part of the Maumee River region led to the so-called

Toledo War The Toledo War (1835–36), also known as the Michigan–Ohio War or the Ohio–Michigan War, was an almost bloodless boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan over what is now known as the Toledo S ...

between Ohio and the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

. Agricultural practices along the Maumee River have contributed in the 21st century to high

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

levels in Lake Erie. This has triggered algae blooms in the lake. The drinking water from the city of Toledo was made unsafe for consumption for nearly a week in August 2014 because of such algae blooms.

Natural history

The Maumee River watershed was once part of the

Great Black Swamp The Great Black Swamp (also known simply as the Black Swamp) was a glacially fed wetland in northwest Ohio, sections of lower Michigan, and extreme northeast Indiana, United States, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until t ...

, a remnant of Glacial Lake Maumee, the proglacial ancestor of Lake Erie. The swamp was a vast network of forests, wetlands, and grasslands, a rich habitat for numerous species of birds, animals, fish and flora. During the 19th century, European-American settlers struggled to drain the swamp and to convert the land to farmland; they dramatically altered the habitat, reducing areas where species could flourish.

Transportation

The mouth of the river at Toledo and Lake Erie is wide and supports considerable commercial traffic, including

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

, and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

. About upstream, in the town of Perrysburg, Ohio, the river becomes much shallower and today supports only recreational navigation above that point. The

Miami and Erie Canal The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that ran from Cincinnati to Toledo, Ohio, creating a water route between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845 at a cost to the state government of $ ...

was built parallel to and north of the Maumee between Toledo and Defiance, Ohio, to enable extended transportation of shipped goods. The canal entered the river at a "slackwater" created by Independence Dam. It exited the river at Defiance and was built to the south, ending at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio. While abandoned for commercial use, portions of the canal's

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport ...

are maintained for recreational use in both Lucas and Henry counties. A restored section of canal, including a canal lock, is operated at Providence Metropark, where visitors can ride an authentic canal boat. The

Wabash and Erie Canal The Wabash and Erie Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via an artificial waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 460 miles long, it was th ...

was constructed on the south side of the river, continuing southwest from Defiance to Fort Wayne, Indiana, crossing the "summit" 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 fro ...

valley (in Miami-Illinois the Wabash River was known as ''Waapaahšiki siipiiwi''). Both canals were important pre-railway transportation methods in the 1840–60 period.

Watershed

The Maumee has the largest watershed of any

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

river, with . This area includes a portion of southern

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 ...

. In addition to its source

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

– the St. Joseph River (in Miami-Illinois: ''Kociihsasiipi'') and St. Marys (in Miami-Illinois: ''Nameewa siipiiwi''), the Maumee's principal tributaries are the

Auglaize River The Auglaize River (Shawnee: ''Kathinakithiipi'') is a tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Erie. The name of the river was derived from the F ...

and the

Tiffin River The Tiffin River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 19, 2011 tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio in the United States. Headwater tributaries of the r ...

, which join it at Defiance from the south and north, respectively.

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 Maumee covers 8,316 square miles and has the largest drainage area of any Great Lakes river. The Maumee AOC is contained within 775 square miles of the river and includes several creeks. The environmental problems were caused by sediment contamination and agricultural runoff. The runoff caused large amounts of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

to enter the river, eventually leading to cultural

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...

in Lake Erie. 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 ...

, which came from old dumps, contaminated industrial sites, combined sewer overflows and disposal of dredged materials. A 2006 remedial action plan for the AOC identified 10 "beneficial use impairments" caused by the pollution: *Added costs to industry and agriculture, which was removed in 2015 due to no additional costs required to treat the water prior to agricultural and industrial use *Restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption due to

PCBs 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 ...

and

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

s *

Eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...

or undesirable

alga Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mi ...

e, which causes persistent water quality problems, such as nuisance

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompas ...

s, decreased water clarity and decrease of dissolved oxygen in bottom waters *Degradation of fish and wildlife populations These levels are set based on what would be expected from the amount and quality of suitable physical, chemical and biological habitat present in the AOC. *Beach closings due to the potential for high bacteria levels caused by combined sewer overflows *Fish tumors or other deformities are caused by pollutants such as petroleum products and

in the sediment and water. *Degradation of aesthetics Materials and events that might cause this include oil slicks, surface scum, combined sewer overflows, excessive dust or

s. *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 waste deposited old dumps, contaminated industrial sites, disposal of

dredged 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 ...

materials and combined sewer overflows *Restriction 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 Contaminants in sediment can get stirred up and reintroduced to the water column during dredging activities, which remove sediment and debris from the bottom of a lake or river. *Loss of fish and wildlife habitat Restoration actions include removing stream barriers, enhancing shoreline complexity, removing invasive species or restoring

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

Islands

There are several small islands in the section of the Maumee River in northwest Ohio. The names of the islands are:Sidecut Metropark History
* Indian Island – near Farnsworth Park west of Toledo * Woodcock Island – just west of Indian Island, adjacent to Missionary Island * Missionary Island – near Farnsworth Park west of Toledo * Granger Island – near

Waterville, Ohio Waterville is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River, a suburb of Toledo. The population was 6,003 at the 2020 census. History Waterville was platted in 1830 by settler John Pray on the west bank of the upper Maume ...

* Butler Island – near Farnsworth Metropark, adjacent to Missionary Island's North East side * Grave Island – adjacent to Missionary Island on its south side, opposite of Butler Island * Otter Island – five miles downstream of

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

* Hedges Island – located south side of Otter Island * Millers Island – three miles downstream of

* Caseys Island – west of Millers Island * Sheets Island – close to Caseys Island * Fox Island – two miles downstream of

* Number 3 Island – two miles east of

* Howard Island – near Grand Rapids Park, in

* Buttonwood Island – located north of Howard Island * Bluegrass Island – part of Side Cut Metropark * Ewing Island – the largest island in the Maumee River, formerly McKee's Island, part of Audubon Islands State Nature Preserve * Grape Island – immediately west of Ewing Island, part of Audubon Islands State Nature Preserve * Marengo Island – near

Maumee, Ohio Maumee ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Maumee River, it is about 10 miles southwest of Toledo. The population was 14,286 at the 2010 census. Maumee was declared an All-America City by the National Civic L ...

* Horseshoe Island – near Walbridge Park in Toledo * Clark Island – near Walbridge Park in Toledo * Corbutt Island – in Toledo * Grassy Island – at the mouth of Grassy Creek at Rossford, Ohio. * Girty's Island – two miles downstream of

Florida, Ohio Florida is a village in Henry County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River. The population was 232 at the 2010 census. History Prior to European settlement Florida was the site of American Indian villages. The most notable village site w ...

* Sand Island – one mile upstream of

* Preston Island – near Defiance, Ohio * Little Sisters Island – near Rossford, Ohio

Walleye run

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the annual

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 ...

run up the Maumee River is one of the largest migrations of riverbound walleye east of the Mississippi. The

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

of the walleye normally starts in early March and runs through the end of April. Although the first week of April is "historically" the peak of the migration, it varies according to environmental conditions. When river flows rise due to snow melt-off and the river water temperature reaches , the migration begins. Walleye come to spawn from the western end of

and the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...

and

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...

in Michigan. The most popular method of fishing for the migrating walleye is by wading out into the river and casting.

Cities and towns along the river

New Haven, Indiana New Haven is a city in Adams, Jefferson, and St. Joseph townships, Allen County, Indiana, United States. It sits to the east of the city of Fort Wayne, the second largest city in Indiana, and is situated mostly along the southern banks of the Ma ...

Antwerp, Ohio Antwerp is a village in Paulding County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River. Antwerp is home of the Antwerp Archers. The population was 1,736 at the 2010 census. Antwerp is the nearest village to the Six Mile Reservoir, the site of the ...

* Cecil, Ohio *

Defiance, Ohio Defiance is a city in and the county seat of Defiance County, Ohio, United States, about southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo and northeast of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in Ohio's northwestern corner. The population was 16,494 at the 2010 United State ...

Napoleon, Ohio Napoleon is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River 44 miles southwest of Toledo. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,749. History The area around the town was once k ...

Grand Rapids, Ohio Grand Rapids is a village in Grand Rapids Township, Wood County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River. The population was 965 at the 2010 census. Grand Rapids is served by a branch of the Weston Public Library. Notable residents Gra ...

Perrysburg, Ohio Perrysburg is a city located in Wood County, Ohio, Wood County, Ohio, United States, along the south side of the Maumee River. The population was 25,041 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Part of the Toledo metropolitan area, the city i ...

Rossford, Ohio Rossford is a city in Wood County, Ohio, Wood County, Ohio, United States, located along the Maumee River in the Toledo metropolitan area. The population was 6,293 at the United States Census 2010, 2010 census. The town includes the intersection o ...

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

Oregon, Ohio Oregon is a city in Lucas County, Ohio. It is a lakefront suburb of Toledo, located on Lake Erie, just east of the city. Oregon is known for its scenic lakefront, bike trails, and Maumee Bay State Park. The population was 19,950 at the 2 ...

References

External links

Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor

Maumee River Basin Commission
(Indiana) *
Google Map of the Maumee River
{{authority control Rivers of Indiana Rivers of Ohio Tributaries of Lake Erie Rivers of Defiance County, Ohio Rivers of Lucas County, Ohio Rivers of Allen County, Indiana Rivers of Paulding County, Ohio Rivers of Wood County, Ohio Rivers of Henry County, Ohio