The Cheboygan River ( / ʃ ə ˈ b ɔɪ ɡ ə n / shə- BOY -gən ) is a river located in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is seven miles long and flows from Mullett Lake to Lake Huron. The river's mouth is in the city of Cheboygan. The Cheboygan River is part of the Inland Waterway, a 38-mile-long (61 km) system of lakes and rivers. This waterway connects Little Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan, to Lake Huron. The Black River is the largest tributary of the Cheboygan River.
Description
The Cheboygan River drops 13 feet (4.0 m) over its 6-mile (9.7 km) length, starting at 594 feet (181 m) above sea level, the elevation of Mullett Lake, and ending at Lake Huron, which is 581 feet (177 m) above sea level. The river and other parts of the Inland Waterway are accessible through locks maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The mouth of the Black River, located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Cheboygan, is a well-known place to observe bald eagles and other birds that eat fish.
In Cheboygan, U.S. Highway 23 crosses the Cheboygan River using the Cheboygan Bascule Bridge, a type of movable bridge called a Scherzer rolling lift bridge. It was built in 1940 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in December 1999. In 2009, city officials in Cheboygan constructed an elevated pedestrian bridge near the mouth of the river.
The entrance of the Cheboygan River into Lake Huron is marked by the Cheboygan Crib Light.
The river forms the boundary between Benton Township and Inverness Township before flowing into the city of Cheboygan. It also creates the port of Cheboygan and provides docking for the ferry boat to Bois Blanc Island and the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw.
History
Cheboygan was established as a town for cutting trees from the Cheboygan River area. The trees were floated down the river to mills (which are mostly gone now) at the river's mouth. Today, one of the main industries in Cheboygan is recreational boating on the river. The river is an important part of the Inland Waterway, which is a network of waterways in the northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. The river is named after the city and county.