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Protecting Northern Michigan's ​Water Resources

Crooked River

The Crooked River is about 10 km long and connects Crooked Lake with Burt Lake. The river channel is dredged to provide recreational boating access between the two lakes.

Overview of Crooked River

Watershed

Primary Inflows

Headwaters

Primary Outflows

Surface Area

0 acres

Shoreline

Maximum Depth

Length

6.2 miles

Known Aquatic Invasive Species

Description:

The Crooked River is about 10 km long and connects Crooked Lake with Burt Lake. The river channel is dredged to provide recreational boating access between the two lakes. A lock and dam operated by the Army Corps of Engineers is located in the village of Alanson near the river’s outlet from Crooked Lake. It is used primarily to regulate the water level of Crooked Lake. The average annual discharge of the Crooked River is 3.8 cms (133 cfs). Several small streams discharge to the river in the vicinity of Alanson.

Most of the Crooked River’s Watershed is forested or grasslands except for the village of  Alanson, and small farm plots north of Alanson. The village of Alanson is serviced by a sanitary sewer, while a small residential area along the river, known locally as Devil’s Elbow, relies on on-site disposal methods. 

Some agricultural land exists within the watershed, but it is primarily in hay, with very little land devoted to row crops. Soils under row crops are generally subject to more erosion than soils under grass and hay. The agricultural land is separated from the river by extensive forested areas. The topography of the watershed is gently rolling, with level wetland areas adjacent to the river.

The soils of the Crooked River Watershed are wetland soils of the Carbondale-Tawas-Roscommon Association series. Beyond the river bottom wetlands lies a zone of nearly level, well-drained sandy soils of the East Lake-Blue Lake-Kalkaska Association soils. In some areas, poorly-drained sandy to loamy soils of the Thomas-Brevort-Iosco Association lie between the wetland soils and those of the East Lake-Blue Lake-Kalkaska Association. The upland soils areas are well-drained sandy soils of the Blue Lake-Leelanau Association.

The Crooked River is an integral part of Michigan’s historic Inland Waterway which connects Lake Huron to Crooked Lake near Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan in Emmet County. The Inland Waterway was used by the Native Americans and trappers as a fast route across northern Michigan instead of the longer, more dangerous passage through the Straits of Mackinac. Today, the Inland Waterway provides recreational boaters with over 40 miles of navigable waters, plus direct access to four of Michigan’s most beautiful and popular lakes.

Additional Resources:

 

TitleCategoriesLinkhf:doc_categories
Comprehensive Water Quality Monitoring (CWQM)Bass Lake, Beals Lake, Bear River, Ben-Way Lake, Birch Lake, Black Lake, Black Lake Watershed, Black River, Boyne River, Burt Lake, Burt Lake Watershed, Carp River Watershed, Cheboygan River, Cheboygan River Watershed, Clam Lake, Crooked Lake, Crooked River, Deer Lake, Douglas Lake, Duncan-Grass Bay Watershed, Elk Lake, Elk River, Elk River Chain Of Lakes, Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed, Ellsworth Lake, Grand Traverse Bay Watershed, Hanley Lake, Huffman Lake, Intermediate Lake, Lake Bellaire, Lake Charlevoix, Lake Charlevoix Watershed, Lancaster Lake, Larks Lake, Little Traverse Bay Watershed, Long Lake, Marion Lake, Mud Lake, Mullett Lake, Mullett Lake Watershed, Munro Lake, Nowland Lake, Paradise Lake, Pickerel-Crooked Lakes Watershed, Round Lake, Scotts Lake, Silver Lake, Six Mile Lake, Skegemog Lake, Spring Lake, St. Clair Lake, Susan Lake, Thayer Lake, Thumb Lake, Torch Lake, Twin Lake, Walloon Lake, Walloon Lake Watershed, Wildwood Lake, Wilson Lakebass-lake beals-lake bear-river ben-way-lake birch-lake black-lake black-lake-watershed black-river boyne-river burt burt-lake-watershed carp-river-watershed cheboygan-river-rivers-streams cheboygan-river-watershed clam-lake crooked-lake crooked-river deer-lake douglas-lake duncan-grass-bay-watershed elk-lake elk-river elk-river-chain-of-lakes elk-river-chain-of-lakes-watershed ellsworth-lake grand-traverse-bay-watershed hanley-lake huffman-lake intermediate-lake lake-bellaire lake-charlevoix lake-charlevoix-watershed lancaster-lake larks-lake little-traverse-bay-watershed long-lake marion-lake mud-lake mullett-lake mullett-lake-watershed munro-lake nowland-lake paradise-lake pickerel-crooked-lakes-watershed round-lake scotts-lake silver-lake six-mile-lake skegemog-lake spring-lake st-clair-lake susan-lake thayer-lake thumb-lake torch-lake twin-lake walloon-lake walloon-lake-watershed wildwood-lake wilson-lake inland-lakes rivers-streams watersheds

Videos
Crooked River – Cooking Oil Spill
Due to a traffic accident on June 11, 2013, nearly 2,500 pounds of used vegetable oil spilled in to the Crooked River via a nearby storm drain on US 31, south of M-68 in Alanson, Michigan. This video highlights the contamination that occurred. 

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