Menominee River | |
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Menominee River
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Basin features | |
Main source |
Brule and Michigamme rivers 45°57′12″N 88°11′46″W / 45.95328°N 88.19624°W |
River mouth |
Green Bay, Lake Michigan 45°05′41″N 87°35′28″W / 45.0947°N 87.59121°WCoordinates: 45°05′41″N 87°35′28″W / 45.0947°N 87.59121°W |
Basin size | 4,070 sq mi (10,500 km2) |
Physical characteristics | |
Length | 116 mi (187 km) |
The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately 116 miles (187 km) long, draining a rural forested area of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan. Its entire course, with that of its tributary, the Brule River, forms part of the boundary between the two states.
It is formed approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Iron Mountain, Michigan, by the confluence of the Brule and Michigamme rivers. As the Menominee flows southeast it picks up the Pine River and travels past Kingsford, Michigan and Niagara, Wisconsin. It then flows generally south, making broad meanders collecting the Sturgeon, Pemebonwon and Pike rivers. It enters Green Bay on Lake Michigan from the north between Marinette, Wisconsin and Menominee, Michigan.
Along its course the Menominee River has been converted into a series of large reservoirs. The waters contained in these reservoirs are some of the area's deepest and cleanest lakes. Many of the lands around those waters are managed for recreational use, which ensures conservation and restricts shoreline development. The lakes are pristine, with wild shores of forest lands instead of rows of cottages and docks.