Pedestrian bridge over the Grand River in downtown Lansing
The Grand River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It runs 260 miles (420 km) through the cities of Jackson, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven before reaching Lake Michigan.
It drains an area of 5,572 mile² (14,431 km²). The Grand River carries an average 3,800 ft³/s (108 m³/s). It has several dams along its length but is a trout and salmon stream for much of its length.
It is estimated that 22% of the pesticide usage in the Lake Michigan watershed occurs in the Grand River drainage which accounts for only 13% of the total watershed. Much of the basin is flat and it contains many swamps and lakes; although, there is an elevation difference of 700 feet (213 m) between the source and mouth of the river.
Grand Rapids is the county seat of Kent County which boasts a population count of over 500,000, covering 856 square miles.
In 1916 the citizens of Grand Rapids voted to adopt a home rule charter that abolished the old aldermanic systems and replaced it with a commission-manager form of government, one of the first in the country.
Grand Rapids led the nation in 1945 when it became the first city in the United States to add fluoride to its drinking water.
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