St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)
| St. Joseph River (Sakiwäsipi) | |
| La Rivière des Miamis (River of the Miamis) | |
| River | |
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | Michigan, Indiana |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Coldwater River, Swan Creek, Prairie River, Fawn River, Pigeon River, Elkhart River, Little Elkhart River |
| - right | Nottawa Creek, Portage River, Rocky River, Dowagiac River, Paw Paw River |
| Source | Baw Beese Lake |
| - location | Hillsdale, Michigan |
| - elevation | 1,096 ft (334 m) |
| - coordinates | 41°54′18″N 084°36′57″W / 41.90500°N 84.61583°W |
| Mouth | Lake Michigan |
| - location | St. Joseph, Michigan and Benton Harbor, Michigan |
| - elevation | 581 ft (177 m) |
| - coordinates | 42°06′51″N 086°29′18″W / 42.11417°N 86.48833°WCoordinates: 42°06′51″N 086°29′18″W / 42.11417°N 86.48833°W |
| Length | 206 mi (332 km) |
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The St. Joseph River (known locally as the St. Joe) is a river, approximately 206 miles (332 km) long, in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan. It was enormously important to Native Americans and greatly aided in the colonial exploration, settlement and administration of New France and the nascent United States as a canoe route between Lake Michigan and the watershed of the Mississippi River.
The St. Joseph River watershed drains 4,685 square miles (12,130 km2) from 15 counties: Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren in Michigan and De Kalb, Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, St. Joseph and Steuben in Indiana. The watershed includes 3,742 river miles (6,022 km) and flows through and near the Kalamazoo-Portage, Elkhart-Goshen, Mishawaka-South Bend, and St. Joseph/Benton Harbor metropolitan areas. The St. Joseph River main stem is 206 miles (332 km) long, rising in southern Michigan in Hillsdale County near Baw Beese Lake, within 5 miles (8 km) of the headwaters of the other St. Joseph River of the eastward-flowing Maumee River watershed. Baw Beese Lake was historically named for the Potawatomi Chief Baw Beese.
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Wikipedia