Saginaw Bay
| Saginaw Bay | |
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| Location | Arenac County, Michigan Bay County, Michigan Huron County, Michigan Iosco County, Michigan Tuscola County, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 43°55′N 83°35′W / 43.917°N 83.583°WCoordinates: 43°55′N 83°35′W / 43.917°N 83.583°W |
| Type | Bay |
| Surface area | 1,143 square miles (2,960 km2) |
| Surface elevation | 581 feet (177 m) |
Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan's Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is 1,143 square miles (2,960 km2) in area. It is located in parts of five Michigan counties: Arenac, Bay, Huron, Iosco, and Tuscola.
The Saginaw Bay watershed is the largest drainage basin in Michigan, draining approximately 15% of the total land area. The watershed contains the largest contiguous freshwater coastal wetland system in the United States. The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network leads the effort to promote sustainable development in the Saginaw Bay Watershed by coordinating watershed programs and providing grants to innovative projects across the region. It is currently listed as an Area of Concern (1 of 46 in the Great Lakes) by the EPA.
O-Sag-e-non or Sag-in-a-we from the Ojibwa language, which means "to flow out", is a possible origin for the name "Saginaw". It may refer to the Saginaw River, which flows out into Saginaw Bay, and eventually into Lake Huron. The name "Saginaw" is not related to Saguenay, a region in Quebec whose name is of Algonquin origin.
This area was long settled by indigenous peoples, lastly by bands of the Ojibwe people prior to European exploration. They dominated the areas around the Great Lakes. In the early 17th century, French explorers were the first Europeans to visit the Great Lakes region. The first to visit the Saginaw Bay area was Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary priest, who went there in 1668 after establishing a mission in St. Ignace. In 1686, father Jean Enjalran[] arrived in the valley to establish an Indian mission, but his efforts failed.
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