The Macatawa River, also known as the Black River, is located in the lower part of

Ottawa County, Michigan Ottawa County ( ) is a Counties of the United States, county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, United States 2020 Census, the population was 296,200. The county seat is Grand Haven, Michigan, Grand Have ...

, which drains into

Lake Macatawa Lake Macatawa, historically known as Black Lake, is a lake in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Geography The lake is about long with a maximum width of and a surface area of . The average depth of the lake is variable but gener ...

and eventually into

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. The main stream is long. Preluding the migration of Dutch settlers, the region was originally inhabited by three

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

nations: the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

, and

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

. Together they comprised the

Council of Three Fires The Council of Three Fires (in , also known as the People of the Three Fires; the Three Fires Confederacy; or the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians) is a long-standing Anishinaabe alliance of the Ojibwe (or Chippewa), O ...

who spoke the

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( ; also Algonkian) are a family of Indigenous languages of the Americas and most of the languages in the Algic language family are included in the group. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from ...

. The indigenous name of the river is approximated to be the word “mak-a-tew-gamie”, meaning “black water” in the

Ottawa dialect Ottawa or Odawa is a dialect of the Ojibwe language spoken by the Odawa people in southern Ontario in Canada, and northern Michigan in the United States. Descendants of migrant Ottawa speakers live in Kansas and Oklahoma. The first recorded mee ...

. Because they spoke oral languages, the name was written by the European immigrants in twenty-five variations, which led to the mis-phoneticized word ''Macatawa'' used today''.'' The Macatawa River Greenway is a corridor of land along the river including a number of private and public parcels that provides a

green highway A green highway is a roadway constructed per a relatively new concept for roadway design that integrates transportation functionality and ecological sustainability. An environmental approach is used throughout the planning, design, and the construct ...

for wildlife and recreational opportunities for people along the water. Land along the Macatawa River open to the public includes: Upper Macatawa Natural Area, Hawthorn Pond, Adams Street Landing, Ridge Point Community Church Natural Area, Paw Paw Park,

Windmill Island Windmill Island Gardens is a municipal park located in the city of Holland, Michigan. It is home to the 251-year-old windmill De Zwaan, the only authentic, working Dutch windmill in the United States. History In 1964, the City of Holland pur ...

, Window on the Waterfront Park, Dunton Park, Kollen Park and

Holland State Park Holland State Park is a public recreation area covering in Park Township, Ottawa County, four miles (6 km) west of the city of Holland, Michigan. The state park consists of separate Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan units on the northern ...

. A number of entities contribute to the management of the public areas along the Macatawa River Greenway including: Outdoor Discovery Center Macatawa Greenway (non-profit), Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission, City of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

, Zeeland Township, Holland Township and Park Township.

References

Rivers of Michigan Rivers of Allegan County, Michigan Rivers of Ottawa County, Michigan Tributaries of Lake Michigan {{Michigan-river-stub

See also

References