Naokomc's photo's of the Shiawassee River......Enjoy!
GEOGRAPHY
The Shiawassee River Basin plays a major role in the mid-Michigan area. Its drainage area is approximately 1,200 square miles and portions of the river touch at least 7 counties.
The river is about 110 miles long and generally flows in a northerly direction, which is one of only two or three in the world. The Flint River, Cass River and Titabawassee River join the Shiawassee just southwest of the City of Saginaw and together form the Saginaw River which drains into the Saginaw Bay.
The fall of the river averages 4 feet per mile from Holly to Corunna, then flattens to about 3 feet per mile from Corunna to Owosso. From Owosso to Chesaning the river falls about 5 feet per mile and beyond it is rather level. The northern portion of the river has two main tributaries, the Bad River and the Swan Creek.
Naokomc's photo's of the Shiawassee River......Enjoy!
Shiawassee County covers four different watersheds which include the Shiawassee River Watershed, Flint River Watershed, Maple River Watershed and Looking Glass River Watershed.
The simple definition is of a watershed is the area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater.
You're sitting in a watershed now Homes, farms, ranches, forests, small towns, big cities and more can make up watersheds. Some cross county, state, and even international borders. Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes. Some are millions of square miles, others are just a few acres. Just as creeks drain into rivers, watersheds are nearly always part of a larger watershed.
GEOLOGY
Much of the bedrock that lies under the glacial drift material was formed by sedimentation during the Paleozoic Era. Because of differences in sedimentation, the bedrock may consist of sandstone, shaley sandstone, sandy shale, sandy limestone and limey shale. The Michigan formation is exposed under the drift southeast of Corunna in east-central Shiawassee County and is composed of shale with beds of gypsum, sandstone, limestone and dolomite.
The Paleozoic Era which ended about 200 million years ago was followed by a long period of erosion. About a million years ago the Glacial Period began. The alternate advance and retreat of glaciers followed exsisting river valleys, scouring them deeper and wider. About 20,000 years ago the last glacier retreated, dropping a load of sand, clay, boulders and gravel in hilly masses called ground moraines, depositing the load as an outwash plain in front of the moraine.
Look what they found on the Beach.....in Lennon?
Most of the northern and central portions of the Shiawassee River basin are used for agriculture, although urban development is evident around Owosso-Corunna area and along major highways.
The Gratiot-Saginaw State Game Area in eastern Gratiot County and refuge and game areas in central Saginaw County called the Shiawassee Flats account for much of the marginal land. The remaining land in this part of the basin is either covered with woods or brush or is idle agricultural land. The southern and eastern portions of the basin are hilly with generally lighter soils, containing most of the lakes, and are under pressure for urban development. Such development is becoming significant around Fenton, Holly and Howell, along state and federal highways and around natural and artificial lakes.
Agricultural production in the basin includes feed grains, winter wheat, soybeans, sugar beets and a large livestock industry. Truck crops, tree fruits and small fruits are also produced in commercial quantities. Non-metallic mineral deposits such as gravel, clay, sand and shales are found within the basin in coomercial quantities. These are also great reserves of coal and natural brines underlying the basin.
The forest lands in the basin are mainly farm woodlots or second growth stands of inferior species, and as a result the yield of wood products is not particularly large.