Detroit River

General data

Name: Detroit River
Water system: St. Lawrence River
Water type: River
Source: Lake St. Clair (North America)
Progression: Lake Erie -> Niagara River -> Lake Ontario -> St. Lawrence River -> Gulf of St. Lawrence -> Atlantic Ocean -> Planet Earth
Climates: Continental
Continents: North America
Countries: Canada, United States of America

The Detroit River flows west and south for 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system.

The Detroit River is only 0.5–2.5 miles (0.8–4.0 km) wide.

It begins with an east-to-west flow from Lake St. Clair, but curves and runs north to south. The deepest portion of the Detroit River is 53 feet (16.2 m) in its northern portion. At its source, the river is at an elevation of 574 feet (175 m) above sea level. The river is relatively level, dropping only 3 feet (0.9 m) before entering Lake Erie at 571 feet (174 m). As the river contains no dams and no locks, it is easily navigable by even the smallest of vessels.

The watershed basin for the Detroit River is approximately 700 square miles (1,800 km2). Since the river is fairly short, it has few tributaries, the largest being the River Rouge in Michigan; this is four times longer than the Detroit River and contains most of the watershed. The only other major American tributary to the Detroit River is the much smaller Ecorse River. Tributaries on the Canadian side include Little River, Turkey Creek, and the River Canard. The discharge for the Detroit River is relatively high for a river of its size, averaged over the year is 5,300 m3/s (190,000 cu ft/s), and the flow is relatively constant.

Detroit River

General data

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