The Detroit River is about 32 miles long from Detroit River
Light at its mouth in Lake Erie to Windmill Point Light at the head of the river at
Lake St. Clair.
The lower part of the river is broad and is filled by many island and shallow expanses. The river banks in this part are more flatly sloping than those in the upper river. The river bottom is generally earth and boulders, except for a section of bedrock and boulders about 6 miles north of the lower end of Bois Blanc Island. Extensive rock excavation and dredging have been necessary to provide channels for deep-draft vessels.
Two dredged channels lead form Lake
Erie to the mouth of the Detroit River. East Outer Channel, a two-way passage, extends north-northwest
from the lake to Detroit River Light.
West Outer Channel passes west of the light and provides a passage for
vessels of moderate draft bound for Monroe or Toledo.
Above Detroit River Light, lower Livingstone Channel is a
two-way passage to the junction with Amherstburg Channel. From the junction, the two (2) channels
extend north to the junction with Ballards Reef Channel, Amherstburg for
upbound traffic and Livingstone Channel for downbound traffic. Ballards Reef and Fight Island Channels lead
from the upper junction of Amherstburg and Livingstone Charnels to the north
end of Fighting Island. From there,
natural deep water can be carried tot the upper end of Belle Isle, from where a
dredged channel leads to Lake St. Clair.
The Great Lakes Towing Company provides tug service to Detroit
River ports, including Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, with tugs
from Detroit.
Lake St. Clair is an expansive shallow basin, with low, marshy
shores and a flatly sloping bottom. The
lake has a greatest natural depth of 19 feet.
St. Clair River flows from north and enters the north part of the lake
through several channels of a wide delta area.
The outer flow of the lake is at the southwestern end through the
Detroit River. The chief importance of
the lake is the dredged deep-draft channel that leads across it to connect
Detroit River and St. Clair River. No
large commercial facilities or harbors are on the lake.
There are no large commercial facilities or harbors on Lake St.
Clair.
The St. Clair River is about 39 miles long from Lake St. Clair
via St. Clair Cutoff Channel and South Channel to the head of the river at Lake
Huron. The lower 11 miles of
the river is a broad delta through which numerous channels flow into Lake St.
Clair. The upper river, above Chenal
Ecarte, is generally a single deep channel, except where obstructed by Fawn
Island and Stag Island. The banks of
the river are clay and sand and usually quite steep.
The Great Lakes Towing Company provides tug service to St. Clair
River ports, including Port
Huron, with tugs from Detroit.