Huron River (Ohio)

Huron River
An early autumn scene of the west branch of the Huron River, near the towns of Milan, Monroeville, and Norwalk in north central Ohio.
Country	United States
Basin features
Main source	East of Shiloh, Ohio 1,090 ft (330 m)
River mouth	Lake Erie at Huron, Ohio 571 ft (174 m)
Basin size	406 sq mi (1,050 km2)
Physical characteristics
Length	15 miles (24 km)

The Huron River is a 14.9-mile-long (24.0 km) waterway in the north central Ohio in the United States. The watershed drains large portions of Erie County and Huron County, the northeast corners of Seneca County and Crawford County, and northern portions of Richland County.

The mouth is on Lake Erie at the city of Huron. The main branch of the river is formed when the East and West branches merge near Milan.

The East Branch, 31.8 miles (51.2 km) long, rises west of Fitchville and flows west to North Fairfield, where it bends north and flows through Peru and Norwalk before reaching Milan.

The West Branch is 54.5 miles (87.7 km) long. It rises about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Greenwich and four miles east of Shiloh, near the intersection of Gilger Road and Noble Road in northern Richland County's Blooming Grove Township. This is within a few miles of the headwaters of both the southwest branch of the Vermilion River (which also flows north to Lake Erie) and Shipp Creek, which is part of the Ohio River watershed via the Black Fork, Mohican, Walhonding, and Muskingum rivers. The West Branch of the Huron flows north and west from Blooming Grove Township through Huron County's Ripley Township, then back into Richland County's Cass Township and into Plymouth. It is here where the river bends north to flow across the Richland/Huron county line into Huron County's New Haven Township and into New Haven. It passes to the east of Willard, although other tributaries rise north of Willard. Still in Huron County, the West Branch continues north through Greenfield Township, Peru Township, and Ridgefield Township. The West Branch continues north into Monroeville and through the balance of Ridgefield Township. Next, the river crosses from Huron County into Erie County and then bends in an easterly direction through southern Oxford Township before reaching the confluence with the East Branch in the Milan State Wildlife Area.