Kalamazoo River

Kalamazoo River. . , Kalamazoo River Environmental Importance , Native Americans harvested vast fields of wild rice near the mouth of the Kalamazoo and drank its crystal waters. But by the mid 1800s the river served as a drain for industrial pollutants and urban sewage. Industrial contaminants emerged as a public concern in 1971 and a citizen-government partnership began working on returning the river to its natural state., Riparian Ecosystem , Molded by the melting of mile high glaciers, the Kalamazoo River Valley comprises of Michigan's most significant drainage basins. The river originates in Hillsdale County and from the junction of its two main branches near Albion to its northern Lake Michigan it drops 352 feet while meandering 138 miles through Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Allegan counties. The river and its banks are symbolized in the paving impression in the plaza., Kalamazoo River Legends , Known variously on early maps as the Muramek, Maramee and Reccanamazoo, by the early 19th century the river came to be called Kalamazoo, hydration of an Algonquian phrase meaning boiling pot. Many fanciful interpretations of its origins have been suggested but most likely the term refers to water swirling at rapids or morning mist rising steam like from its surface., Kalamazoo River Economic Importance , A watery highway of the Potawatomi, the Kalamazoo River beckoned to pioneers who soon dotted its length with frontier settlements. Its waters powered early industry and floated rafts of flour and logs to market. Many generations fished its depths, harvested mussels that lined its bottom and enjoyed its scenic grande. But the 1930's eleven electric generating dams harnessed its flow.