Everything about River Rouge Michigan totally explained
The
River Rouge, also known as the
Rouge River, is a
river in the
Metro Detroit area of southeastern
Michigan. It flows into the
Detroit River at the boundary between the cities of
River Rouge and
Detroit. Traditionally, the river has been heavily polluted. However, it has become much cleaner since a massive cleanup was implemented in the 1990s.
(External Link
) Further cleanup measures are ongoing.
The river's roughly 467 square-mile
watershed includes all or parts of 48 municipalities with a population of over 1,500,000 and drains a large portion of central and northwest
Wayne County, as well as a much of southern
Oakland County and a small area in eastern
Washtenaw County. Nearly the entire drainage basin is in urban and suburban areas, with areas of intensive residential and industrial development. Yet, more than 50 miles of the River Rouge flow through public lands, making it one of the most accessible rivers in the state.
The river is notable for being the site of the
Ford Motor Company River Rouge Plant, built between 1915 and 1927, when it was the first manufacturing facility for automobiles that included within the plant virtually everything needed to produce the cars: blast furnaces, an open hearth mill, a steel rolling mill, a glass plant, a huge power plant and, of course, an assembly line. The lower reaches of the river were channelized and widened to allow freighter access to Ford's Rouge plant inland factory facilities. Despite flowing through such heavily industrial areas, the river's pollution comes mostly from residential storm water runoff. Industry is responsible for only 2% of the pollution.
(External Link)
Henry Ford built an estate on the river in
Dearborn, upriver from the manufacturing plant, on what is now the campus of the
University of Michigan-Dearborn. A portion of the estate is preserved and more of it's held as a nature study area since 1956. Since 1992, the
Rouge River Bird Observatory has operated on the campus.
Greenfield Village, part of
The Henry Ford museum complex, is just downriver from the estate.
The Henry Ford, billed as "America's Greatest History Attraction" is a major tourist destination in the area.
The River Rouge totals 126 miles in length and is divided into four branches, the main, upper, middle, and lower branches.
The upper branch flows into the main branch in northwest Detroit, just east of
Redford Township. The middle branch enters the main branch in
Dearborn Heights just north of boundary with Dearborn. The lower branch joins less than two miles downstream in Dearborn.
Main branch
The headwaters of the main branch rise in the southwest corner of
Rochester Hills and the northeast corner of
Bloomfield Township. It flows mostly south through the western part of
Troy, and then flows southwest through
Birmingham, a noncontiguous portion of
Bloomfield Township,
Beverly Hills, the southeast corner of
Bingham Farms,
Southfield. It then flows mostly south through western
Detroit and
Dearborn Heights, then turns southeast in
Dearborn and continues along the northern edges of
Allen Park,
Melvindale,
River Rouge and the southern edge of Detroit. Other municipalities that are part of the main branch watershed are
Auburn Hills Bloomfield Hills,
Farmington,
Farmington Hills,
Franklin,
Lathrup Village,
Oak Park,
Orchard Lake,
Pontiac,
Southfield Township, and
West Bloomfield Township.
Major tributaries of the main branch include:
- Franklin River (also known as the Franklin branch of the River Rouge)
- Pebble Creek
- Evans Ditch
- Upper Branch (see below)
- Ashcroft-Sherwood Drain
- Middle Branch (see below)
- Lower Branch (see below)
- Ruby Creek
Upper branch
The headwaters of the upper branch rise in the southwest
West Bloomfield Township, the southeast corner of
Commerce Township, and the northeast corner of
Novi. It forms in
Farmington Hills with the confluence of Minnow Pond Drain and Seeley Drain, where it flows mostly southeast through
Farmington,
Livonia,
Redford Township and enters the main branch in the northwest Detroit neighborhood of
Brightmoor, Detroit.
Tributaries of the upper branch include (from downriver to upriver)
Bell Branch
- Show Drain
- Blue Drain
- Bell Drain
- Tarabusi Creek
Minnow Pond Drain
Seeley Drain
Middle branch
The middle branch forms in Northville in northwest Wayne County with the confluence of the "Walled Lake branch" and Johnson Drain. The Walled Lake branch rises in Novi in a marshy drainage area south of Walled Lake, in southwest Oakland County. Johnson Drain rises in Salem Township in northeast Washtenaw County. From Northville, the middle branch flows south through Northville Township and Plymouth Township before turning to the southeast in the city of Plymouth. From Plymouth, it continues through the southwest corner of Livonia into Westland, then along the northern edge of Garden City and into Dearborn Heights where it merges with the upper branch near the southern boundary with Dearborn. Other municipalities that are part of the middle branch watershed are Canton Township, Commerce Township, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Lyon Township, Redford Township, and Wixom.
Tributaries of the middle branch include (from downriver to upriver)
Bill's Drain
Red Run Drain
Wilson Drain
Tonquish Creek
Johnson Drain
Walled Lake branch
- Thornton Creek
- Ingersol Creek
Lower branch
The lower branch rises in sections 11 and 12 in Superior Township in Washtenaw County and flows mostly eastward into Wayne County through Canton Township, Wayne, Westland, Inkster, Dearborn Heights and Dearborn. Other communities in the lower branch watershed include Van Buren Township, Plymouth Township, Salem Township, Ypsilanti Township.
Tributaries include (from downriver to upriver):
Hunter Drain
Hannan Drain
Fellows Creek
McKinstry Drain
Sinds Drain
Fowler Creek
Parks Drain Further Information
Get more info on 'River Rouge Michigan'.
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