Red Cedar River (Michigan)

Red Cedar River
River
The Red Cedar in autumn.
Country	USA
State	Michigan
Counties	Ingham, Livingston
Cities	Fowlerville, Williamston, Okemos, East Lansing, Lansing
Source	Cedar Lake
- location	Livingston County, Michigan, USA
- coordinates
Mouth	Grand River
- location	Lansing, Michigan, USA
- coordinates
Length	51 mi (82 km)
Basin	472 sq mi (1,222 km2)

The Red Cedar River is a westward-flowing tributary of the Grand River in Michigan. Its source is Cedar Lake which is located in Marion Township in the southeastern corner of Livingston County, and it runs about 51.1 miles (82.2 km) through Okemos, East Lansing, including the campus of Michigan State University, and finally Lansing, where it empties into the Grand River. It has a West and a Middle branch, each of which also originates in southern Livingston County.

Additional information

It is not navigable by boats any larger than recreational size, and is not an important shipping route. Its watershed area is estimated at 472 square miles (1,220 km²), and it has 12 tributaries of its own. Since the national Clean Water Act in 1972, the river has greatly improved and is safe for swimming 74% of the year (the exception usually being right after heavy rains which bring higher levels of E. coli from runoff waters). The Red Cedar is regularly monitored by MSU Water with the contaminant reports posted by the Michigan State University International Center. Despite these improvements, littering and pollution into the river and onto its banks is a common problem and includes bikes, parking barricades, general trash, and occasionally large items such as car tires and mopeds. To combat this problem, twice per year the undergraduate MSU Fisheries and Wildlife club holds a "Red Cedar Clean-Up" event that brings students, faculty, alumni, and community members together to remove and recycle items found in the river and its banks. The river is named for the trees commonly known as "red cedar" that were prevalent and still are somewhat common near the river's source and beginning length. The tree however, is properly a type of juniper, Juniperus virginiana.

Importance to Michigan State University

The Red Cedar River is an iconic natural landmark to all Spartans. The name of the river is featured in the first line of MSU's fight song, and MSU students are often found studying in the campus park along the river's banks. Students, faculty, alumni and visitors frequently feed the large community of Mallard ducks that congregate year-round near the river dam south of the Administration Building. The river boasts a large amount of life ranging from caddis and hex larva to trout and bass. The river is popular in the summer for canoeing and kayaking. (The campus canoe dock is self-mockingly named Red Cedar Yacht Club.) In flood, the river forms a standing wave at the campus dam that is very popular with surfers and kayakers. In the winter, the river often freezes over and many students enjoy playing on the ice despite the inherent danger.

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  The river in winter.

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  Mallards by the Red Cedar on the MSU campus.

See also

• List of Michigan rivers
• Michigan State University

External links

• Real time water data United States Geological Survey
• Red Cedar Watershed Management Plan Upper Grand River Watershed Alliance
• Great Lakes Wiki entry
• MSUAA Knowledge Network site on Red Cedar River and Michigan State University