St. Clair River Location Size History Watersheds Islands

The river flows in a southerly direction, connecting the southern end of Lake Huron to the northern end of Lake St. Clair. It branches into several channels near its mouth at Lake St. Clair, creating a broad delta region.

2 Size

The river is 39 miles (64 km) long and drops 5 feet (1.5 m) in elevation from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair. The flow rate averages around 182,000 cubic feet per second (5,200 m³/s), and the drainage area is 222,400 square miles (576,000 km²). This takes into account that the combined drainage areas of Lakes Huron, Michigan, and SuperiorLake Superior is the largest of North America's Great Lakes. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area with Lake Baikal in Siberia having more volume. The Caspian Sea is larger, but contains salt water. Lake Superior has a surface are.

The shipping channel on Lake St. Clair itself is 35 miles (56 km) long from the end of the St. Clair River to the beginning of the Detroit RiverGrosse Ile Township, Michigan The Detroit River is about 51 km (32 miles) long and 1 to 4 km (0. 5 miles) wide in the Great Lakes system. The name "Detroit" is French for "straits". It flows from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie. The boundary between Canada an. The Detroit River is 32 miles (51 km) long and drops 3 feet (1 m) in elevation from Lake St. Clair to its mouth at Lake ErieLeamington, Ontario Lake Erie is one of the five large freshwater Great Lakes in North America, the world's largest such lakes. Lake Erie itself is the 13th largest natural lake, if the Caspian and Aral Seas are counted. It has a surface area of 24,000 km. The Detroit River discharges an average of 186,000 cubic feet per second (5,300 m³/s) into Lake Erie.

3 History

In the 1700s, FrenchThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. Voyageurs travelled on the river in canoesA canoe is a relatively small human-powered boat. It is propelled by one or more people (depending on the size of canoe), using single-bladed paddles. The paddlers face in the direction of travel, either in a seated position or kneeling on the bottom of t loaded with furs destined to adorn Europe's royalty. Ships built at Marine City, MichiganMarine City is a city located in St. Clair County, Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 4,652. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6. 2 mi²) of it is land and 0. 3 mi²) of it during the mid- 1800s carried immigrants up the river on their way to new homes in the American West. During the 20th century, freighters returned from the upper Great Lakes with iron ore, copper, grain - products of some of these settlers' labor.

4 Watersheds

The St. Clair River and its Lambton County tributaries in Ontario contributes 418 km² (103,210 acres) to the watershed, although this does not include the Sydenham River watershed. In Michigan, the Black River, Pine River , and Belle River drain 3,159 km² (780,600 acres) in Lapeer, Macomb, Sanilac, and St. Clair counties; the watersheds around Bunce Creek and Marine City are relatively small.

5 Islands

Stag Island lies between Corunna, Ontario and Marysville, Michigan.
Fawn Island is near Marine City, Michigan.
Walpole, Seaway, Bassett, Squirrel, Pottowatamie, St. Anne, Dickinson, and Harsens islands are located where the St. Clair River flows into Lake St. Clair; these islands form the "St. Clair Flats", the only major river delta in the Great Lakes and the largest freshwater delta in North America. Six of the islands in this delta are territory belonging to the Walpole Island First Nation.

6 Land usage

Most of the watershed away from the river in Ontario and Michigan is used for agriculture. A few forest and wetland remnants are present, although their area has declined significantly since European settlement.

Much of the shoreline on both sides of the St. Clair River is urbanized and heavily industrialized. Intensive development has occurred in and near the cities of Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario. The heaviest concentration of industry (including a large petrochemical complex) lies along the Ontario shore south of Sarnia.

Several communities along the St. Clair rely on the river as their primary source of drinking water. About one-third to one-half of the residents of Michigan receive their water from the St. Clair/Detroit River waterway.

Industries -- including petroleum refineries, chemical manufacturers, paper mills, salt producers and electric power plants -- also need high quality water for their operations, although there have been some cases in recent years where these industries have contaminated river waters after discharging pollutants.

7 Land habitat

Land areas of the St. Clair River shoreline and flats consist of two biological zones: upland and transitional, both of which are normally above the water table, but which may be flooded periodically.

The upland forests consist of deciduous species, many of which are near their northern climatic limit. Most pre-European settlement trees have been cleared for agriculture, industry, or urbanization. Remaining forest stands, such as oak savannas as well as lakeplain prairies, are found along the southern reaches of the river, particularly on the islands of the St. Clair River Delta and on the Michigan shore in Algonac State Park.

Transitional species are abundant in the low-lying regions, categorized as shrub ecotones, wet meadows, sedge marshes, and island shorelines and beaches. This habitat is home to water and land mammals, including humans, as well as songbirds, waterfowl, insects, pollinators, reptiles, and amphibians.

8 Water habitat

The aquatic habitat of the St. Clair River ranges from deep and fast near the Blue Water Bridge to shallow and slow in the lower river near its discharge point into Lake St. Clair.

Each area provides a unique habitat for aquatic life:

macrophytes (visible marine plants),
benthic macroinvertebrates (organisms that live at the bottom of a lake or stream),
phytoplankton and zooplankton (floating plants and animals),
emergent vegetation (plants seen above the water surface),
fish (from minnows to large sport fish).

9 Area of Concern

The St. Clair River is listed as an Area of Concern (AOC) because of pollutants such as bacteria, heavy metals, and toxic organics, which had come from municipal and industrial discharges, urban and rural runoff, combined sewer overflows (CSOs), and contaminated sediments.

The St. Clair River AOC includes the entire river, from the Blue Water Bridge to the southern tip of Seaway Island, west to St. Johns Marsh and east to include the north shore of Mitchells Bay on Lake St. Clair. Anchor Bay is not included.

Through the Great Lakes agreement, a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) was created to initiate cleanup measures. It consists of six steps:

Restrictions on fish consumption
Bird and animal deformities
Degradation of benthos
Restrictions on dredging activities
Restrictions on drinking water consumption
Beach closings
Degradation of aesthetics
Added cost to agriculture and industry
Loss of fish and wildlife habitat

The RAP for the St. Clair River AOC was initiated in 1985. A binational group, called the RAP Team, was established in 1987 to develop the plan and ensure adequate and appropriate public involvement. The RAP Team included representatives from federal, state, and provincial governments.

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1 Location