Approximately 60 miles (100 km) in length, the Portage River and its tributaries, the Middle Branch and North Branch, meanders across Ottawa, Sandusky, and Wood counties in northwest Ohio before it empties into Lake Erie near Port Clinton. It most likely derives its name from early explorers who were forced to portage or carry their canoes and boats around the river's intermittent shallows and rapids. A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer, symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... Ottawa County is a county located in the state of Ohio. ... Sandusky County is a county located in the state of Ohio. ... State nickname: The Buckeye State Other U.S. States Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Governor Bob Taft Official languages None Area 116,096 km² (34th)  - Land 106,154 km²  - Water 10,044 km² (8. ... Lake Erie, looking southward from a high rural bluff near Leamington, Ontario Lake Erie is one of the five large freshwater Great Lakes in North America, the worlds largest such lakes. ... Port Clinton is a city located in Ottawa County, Ohio. ... Portage refers to the practice of carrying a canoe or other boat overland land to avoid an obstacle on the water route (such as rapids in a river), or between two water routes. ...

Native Americans were the first to use the river for as a food source and transportation. In 1782, a trader wrote to a merchant in Detroit, "it is expected there will be two French traders at or near Little Island or the Portash River." In 1850 the Ohio legislature passed the first of several laws mandating the draining of the Great Black Swamp into the Portage and Maumee rivers. This lead to the creation of many of the tributaries, streams, and ditches feeding the Portage River. Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, Amerindians, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article refers to the largest city of Michigan. ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Categories: US geography stubs | Ohio history | Indiana history | Wetlands | U.S. historical regions and territories ... See also List of Indiana rivers List of Ohio rivers External link EPA Maumee River site Categories: US geography stubs | Indiana rivers | Ohio rivers ...

Drainage system changes have caused the Portage River to shift the location of its mouth at least twice in the past three hundred years. Maps recorded in 1754 show the mouth near the present location of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Prior to that, the river emptied into Lake Erie near West Harbor. 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Despite its shallow depth, the river is relatively clean, reaching 76-percent of Ohio EPA standards. Environmental concerns include nonpoint pollution sources, inappropriate land use, and sewage discharge. Due to PCB contimination, the Ohio EPA recommends no more than one meal per month of channel catfish and common carp caught in the Portage River. EPA redirects here. ... Labelling transformers containing PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of organic compounds with 1 to 10 chlorine atoms are attached to biphenyl and a general structure of C12H10-xClx. ... Binomial name Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818) Channel catfish {Ictalurus punctatus) are North Americas most popular catfish species among anglers. ... Binomial name Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common Carp or European Carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a widespread freshwater fish distantly related to the common goldfish, which it is capable of interbreeding with. ...