Elk River (Michigan)

The Elk River is a very short but significant river in the Lake Michigan drainage basin of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is only 1.5 miles (2.5 km) in length, and flows from Elk Lake into Grand Traverse Bay. It forms a waterway and harbor for the municipality of Elk Rapids.cite book
year = 2002
title = Michigan Atlas and Gazetteer (10th ed.)
publisher = DeLorme
location = Yarmouth, Maine
id = ]

Elk Lake is 192 feet (57 m) deep and is a former arm of Lake Michigan. When the larger lake's level dropped, a belt of sediment separated Elk Lake from Grand Traverse Bay, and a short, rapid-water river, Elk River, formed to provide dainage for the smaller lake.

The Indians named the short, rapid river the "Meguzee River", in honor of the Anishinaabe name for the bald eagle. In the early 1800s, Euro-American settlers arrived. In 1858, someone discovered a pair of elk antlers in the rapids; the rapids, river, and lake were renamed after the dead animal."The Village & Township of Elk Rapids", Elk Rapids, Mich., accessed August 9, 2007. [http://www.elkrapids.com/] ]

The rapids are quiet now, as a hydroelectric dam has been built. Boats must portage the dam, using adjacent boat ramps. Below the dam, the river opens out into Grand Traverse Bay and forms the harbor of Elk Rapids.

References

External links

* [http://www.fishweb.com/maps/antrim/elklake/index.html Map of Elk River, with location of dam]