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Explore the River Basin
The making of a river basin: Cradled within rolling hills, deep forests and lush wetlands, the Upper Chippewa River gathers its waters from 4,680 square miles of land that stretches across six northern Wisconsin Counties. This river basin was born 10,000 years ago after the last glacier retreated, melting to the north. In its wake, the glacier left a complex landscape. As the ice melted, the sand, gravels and boulders frozen within were released forming hills and hollows called moraines. Where poorly drained, theses moraines were dotted with lakes and wetlands. Where glacial rivers ran beneath or over the ice, gravel and rocks were deposited, leaving behind ridge and hill deposits called eskers and kames.
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What makes the magic of a river? Is it the infinite motion of waters tumbling over rocks or the graceful sweep of current along a deep river bend? Is it the sudden flight of a great blue heron surprised along a shallow pool or the thought of an ancient sturgeon swimming invisible beneath your canoe? Perhaps it is a sense of timelessness, of water flowing 24 hours a day, year after year, in a cycle that connects rain, snow, and far away oceans.
Fish Movement: The Cooperative Fisheries research o the East Fork of the Chippewa River seeks to answer questions about fish movement above Snaptail Rapids Dam. (July 6, 2002)
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The Mother of All Rivers: Where does a stream begin and a river end? A stream starts with water in motion, but have you considered…a stream is more than its water…it is the streambed, the banks, the wetlands and the near-shore uplands. As it flows downhill, joining other small streams, the river system begins to resemble the familiar shape of a tree. Its headwaters are like limbs. A main stem carries the combined flow of the river system. The stream and its surrounding watershed encompass all the land draining to a common point or body of water.
Waters from the Upper Chippewa watershed follow a long odyssey. After leaving this headwaters region, they flow into North America's largest river, the Mississippi, and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico. In the Upper Chippewa River Basin, there are 379 named rivers and streams. There are a total of 4,051 river and stream miles. The major rivers in the Upper Chippewa Basin include: the main stem, east and west forks of the Chippewa, north and south forks of the Flambeau, Manitowish, Couderay, Thornapple, Elk and Jump rivers.
The Flow: While part of the magic of a river is the slow sweep of moving water, flowing water holds more than aesthetic values for humans. Historically, American Indians depended upon rivers for transportation. The voyageurs used these same routes to carry furs and trade goods, and later timber barons floated huge rafts of pine downstream to feed lumber mills.
Today, highways have all but replaced rivers as transportation routes, but the flow of the Upper Chippewa River remains a powerful resource for humans. Early in this century, the Chippewa and Flambeau Rivers were recognized for their hydroelectric potential. There are now 13 hydropower facilities and three water storage reservoirs on the two rivers.
The Chippewa and Flambeau Rivers have been transformed from free-flowing rivers that supported communities of plants, insects, birds, fish and animals associated with moving water. Today's many riverine reaches and impoundments also support plants and animals with different habitat needs. These impoundments bring environmental benefits and concerns. Benefits include zero emission low cost power, flood control, and sustained water flow during low water periods. Challenges include: reduced nutrient recycling, increased sedimentation, loss of in-stream fish habitat and potential release of pollutants such as mercury and other heavy metals trapped in reservoir sediments.