Detroit River
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Detroit River Rivière Détroit |
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 Detroit River connects Lake St. Clair (center) with Lake Erie (lower edge) |
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| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 624587 | |
| location | Michigan (USA) / Ontario (Canada) border |
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| River system | Saint Lawrence River | |
| Drain over | Lake Erie → Niagara River → Saint Lawrence River → Atlantic Ocean | |
| origin |
Lake St. Clair 42 ° 21 ′ 17 " N , 82 ° 55 ′ 35" W. |
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| Source height | 175 m | |
| muzzle |
Lake Erie coordinates: 42 ° 2 '28 " N , 83 ° 8' 59" W 42 ° 2 '28 " N , 83 ° 8' 59" W. |
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| Mouth height | 174 m | |
| Height difference | 1 m | |
| Bottom slope | 0.02 ‰ | |
| length | 44 km | |
| Big cities | Detroit, Michigan, Windsor, Ontario | |
 Detroit River with paddle steamer. View of the Canadian shore from Detroit |
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The Detroit River ( French Rivière Détroit ) is a river in North America belonging to the Great Lakes system .
Together with the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair , the Detroit River forms the outflow from Lake Huron into Lake Erie . Since the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway , it has been part of the shipping route between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic .
The entire length of the Detroit River forms the border between Canada ( Ontario ) and the USA ( Michigan ). Its name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit , where the word "Détroit" originally referred to a strait .
geography
The approximately 44 km long Detroit River begins at the Windmill Pointe Lighthouse on the outflow of Lake St. Clair, which is divided by the island of Peach Island / Peche Island , and ends at Bar Point at its confluence with Lake Erie. The waterway, on the other hand, begins at Windmill Point Light and only ends at the Detroit River Light and thus has a length of 51 km. The waterway is dredged to a depth of at least 8.23 m (27 ft) for large ships, and shipping is also tied to fairways across Lake St. Clair and at the western end of Lake Erie.
The river, between 600 m and 4 km wide, leaves Lake St. Clair first in a westerly direction, then describes a large arc in order to flow largely in a straight line south into Lake Erie in its second half. The Detroit River has a gradient of one meter and a low, largely constant current between its beginning at an altitude of 175 m above sea level and its end.
There are numerous islands in the river, including Belle Isle , Fighting Island and Grosse Ile .
On its north bank is Detroit, Michigan, opposite Windsor, Ontario. The two cities are connected by the Ambassador Bridge , the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel - the only cross connections across the river. They are also the only border crossings at which you have to drive north to get from Canada to the USA ( Fort Erie in Ontario is partly in the south of part of the American Niagara County , but the Peace Bridge over the border to the USA lies in a west-east direction).
history
During Prohibition in the United States , the river (freezing in winter) played a major role in smuggling alcohol into the United States.
environment
The land on both sides of the river is largely occupied by towns, businesses and industries. For decades, their sewage ran into the Detroit River and further into Lake Erie, so that the river and the lake were considered dead bodies of water. However, in recent years great efforts have been made to clean up the pollution and restore the river and its banks.
Individual evidence
- ^ Natural Resources Canada
- ^ Detroit River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
- ↑ Detroit River - US Coast Pilot in: Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping Online, Facts & Figures; on boatnerd.com
- ↑ Friends of the Detroit River ( Memento of the original from April 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
