Muskegon River
| Muskegon River | |
| River | |
 Muskegon River near Newaygo, MI in September 2012
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Michigan |
| Cities | Evart, Big Rapids, Croton, Newaygo, Muskegon |
| Source | Houghton Lake |
| - coordinates | 44°23′58″N 84°47′27″W / 44.39944°N 84.79083°W |
| Mouth | Muskegon Lake |
| - location | Muskegon, MI |
| - coordinates | 43°15′41″N 86°14′53″W / 43.26139°N 86.24806°WCoordinates: 43°15′41″N 86°14′53″W / 43.26139°N 86.24806°W |
| Length | 216 mi (348 km) |
| Basin | 2,350 sq mi (6,086 km2) |
 Map of the Muskegon River
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Muskegon River is a river in the western portion of the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river has its headwaters in Houghton Lake in Roscommon County, flowing out of the North Bay into neighboring Missaukee County. From there it flows mostly southwest to Muskegon, Michigan, where it empties into Muskegon Lake. Muskegon Lake is connected to Lake Michigan via a mile-long channel. The river has several major branches, such as the Hersey River, Cedar Creek and Little Muskegon River. The main stream is 216 miles (348 km) long and drains an area of 2,350 square miles (6,100 km2). In September 2002 an often cited article, National Geographic raised concerns about a controversial deal made with Nestle Waters North America giving them permission "to bottle up to 210 million gallons (about 800 million liters) a year from an aquifer north of Grand Rapids, Michigan that recharges the Muskegon River."
Like many of its neighboring streams, the Muskegon was one of the favored logging rivers during the boom years of the 1880s-1890s, and a keen eye can still pick out remnants of stray logs left over from the spring logging runs which are embedded on the river bottom.
Winfield Scott Gerrish is credited with revolutionizing lumbering in Michigan by building a seven-mile-long logging railroad from Lake George to the Muskegon River. However, there were several Michigan logging railroads in operation in the 1850s including the seven-mile-long Blendon Lumber Company railroad in Ottawa County which was the first in the state to employ a steam locomotive in May 1857.
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Wikipedia