RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEM

Molded by the melting of the mile-high glaciers the Kalamazoo River Valley comprises one of Michigan's most significant drainage basins. The river originates in Hillsdale County and from the junction of its two main branches near Albion to its mouth on Lake Michigan it drops 352 feet while meandering 138 miles through Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Allegan Counties.  The river and its banks are symbolized in the paving impressions in this plaza.

KALAMAZOO RIVER LEGENDS

Know variously on early maps as the Muramek, Maramee and Reccanamazoo, by the early 19th century the river came to be called Kalamazoo, a derivation of an Algonquian phrase meaning "boiling pot."  Many fanciful interpretations of its origins have been suggested, but most likely the term refers to water swirling at rapids or morning mist rising steam-like from its surface.

KALAMAZOO RIVER ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

A watery high of the Potawatomi, the Kalamazoo River beckoned to pioneers who soon dotted its length with frontier settlements.  Its waters powered early industry and floated rafts of flour and logs to markets.  Many generations fished its depths, harvested mussels that lined its bottom and enjoyed its scenic grandeur.  By the 1930s eleven electric-generating dams harnessed its flow.

KALAMAZOO RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPORTANCE

Native Americans harvested vast fields of wild rice near the mouth of the Kalamazoo and drank its crystal waters.  But by the mid 1800s the river served as a drain for industrial pollutants and urban sewage.  Industrial contaminates emerged as a public concern in 1971 and a citizen-government partnership began working to return the river to its natural state.