St. Clair
St. Clair is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 42.82°, -82.49°
About St. Clair
The St. Clair River is a 40.5-mile-long (65.2 km) river in eastern North America that flows from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, forming part of the international boundary between Canada and the United States and between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is a significant component in the Great Lakes Waterway, whose shipping channels permit cargo vessels to travel between the upper and lower Great Lakes. The St. Clair Delta is located at the mouth of the St. Clair River where it meets Lake St. Clair and is the largest delta in the Great Lakes system, covering approximately 140 square miles (360 km2).
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: St. Clair River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
St. Clair in Depth
History
Generations of indigenous cultures traveled by canoe on the lakes and rivers in this area, carrying on trade across the region and continent.
In the 18th century, French voyageurs and coureurs des bois traveled on the river to trade with the Ojibwa and other regional Native Americans and transport furs in canoes to major posts of French and British traders, including Fort Detroit, built in 1701 downriver from Lake St. Clair on the Detroit River. European demand for American furs, especially beaver, was high until the 1830s.
During the mid-19th century and later, Port Huron and Marine City, Michigan, became major shipbuilding centers, especially the latter.
Location
The river, which some consider a strait, flows southward, connecting the southern end of Lake Huron to the northern end of Lake St. Clair. Near its mouth at Lake St. Clair, it divides into three main channels; the North, Middle, and South Channels, forming the St. Clair Delta, also known as the St. Clair Flats. Like a strait, the river functions as a narrow waterway connecting two larger bodies of water.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: St. Clair River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
St. Clair: Key Facts
| Length | 65 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 5,200 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 3,776 km² |
| Source | Lake Huron |
| Mouth | Lake Saint Clair |
| Drainage system | St. Clair River drainage basin |
| Tributaries | Belle River, Black River, Pine River, Talfourd Creek, Baby Creek, Bowens Creek, Clay Creek |
Facts from Wikidata Q1054325 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
St. Clair: Quick Answers
- Where is St. Clair?
- St. Clair is located in Canada and United States, at 42.8187° N, 82.4860° W.
- Are there dams on the St. Clair?
- No dam on the St. Clair is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.