Pere Marquette River

The Pere Marquette River is a river in Michigan in the United States. The main stream of this river is 63.9 miles (102.8 km) long,[1] running from Lake County south of Baldwin into the Pere Marquette Lake, and from there into Lake Michigan.[2]

Not to be confused with Marquette River.

Pere Marquette River
Tourists canoeing on the Pere Marquette River in the Manistee National Forest.
Location
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Counties	Lake, Mason, Newaygo, Oceana
Cities	Ludington, Scottville
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Lake County, Michigan, United States
• coordinates	43°51′22″N 85°50′30″W
Mouth	Lake Michigan
• location	Ludington, Michigan, United States
• coordinates	43°57′06″N 86°27′37″W
Length	64 mi (103 km)
Basin size	740 sq mi (1,900 km^2)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Little South Branch, Big South Branch
• right	Middle Branch, Baldwin River
National Wild and Scenic River
Type	Scenic
Designated	November 10, 1978

This river is named after the French Roman Catholic missionary Jacques Marquette, who explored the Great Lakes and Mississippi River areas during the mid-17th century. He died in the vicinity of the river in spring 1675 on his way from Chicago to the French fort at Mackinaw.

National Wild and Scenic River designation

The upper portion of the Pere Marquette runs approximately 44 miles (71 km) from the forks of the Little South and Middle Branches downstream to highway M-37. In 1978, 66 miles (106 km) of the river was designated a National Scenic River. This section begins near Baldwin at the junction of the Little South and Middle Branches and continues until the river meets U.S. Highway 31 in Scottville.[3]

Sport fishing

The Pere Marquette River is designated a Blue Ribbon fishery.[4]

Wildlife

This river's original native fish was the Grayling, but due to deforestation after the great Chicago Fire, they disappeared from the river. It was then stocked with rainbow trout in 1876. In 1884, the Baldwin River, a major tributary, became the first American river to ever be stocked with European brown trout fish, which were imported from Germany, and is why they are referred to by some as German Brown Trout.[5]

Other animal species living along this river

• Chinook Salmon, successfully introduced in the 1960s
• Coho salmon
• Steelhead
• Brook trout
• Western chorus frog
• Bullfrog
• Crayfish
• Northern leopard frog
• Mudpuppy
• Eastern tiger salamander and several other species of salamander
• Northern water snake
• Copper-bellied water snake
• Common snapping turtle
• Red-eared slider
• Five-lined skink
• Muskrat
• Mink
• Beaver
• Weasel
• Wood Duck
• New Zealand mud snail, an invasive species[6]
• North American River Otter

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed November 21, 2011
2. "Pere Marquette River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
3. Pere Marquette River, National Wild & Scenic Rivers
4. Michigan's Blue Ribbon Trout Streams
5. Brown Trout Archived 2010-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, Michigan Sea Grant program
6. Matheny, Keith (25 November 2015). "New Zealand mudsnail Michigan's latest invasive species". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. Retrieved 27 November 2015. Sarah LeSage was on a floating trip with some girlfriends down the Pere Marquette River near Baldwin in Lake County last August, when the group stopped on the banks near Gleason's Landing to relax.... She took some samples, and the snails were later confirmed as the New Zealand mudsnail, the first time the invasive species had been found thriving in Michigan.

External links

• Pere Marquette River Michigan Department of Natural Resources