Little Miami River
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The Little Miami River (also called the Little Miami Scenic River) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 106 mi (170 km) long, in southwestern Ohio in the United States. It has been designated a National Wild and Scenic River. The river joins the Ohio River east of Cincinnati. Its East Fork is a major tributary that was dammed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to create East Fork Lake, located in East Fork State Park.
The river is named for the Miami, an Algonquian-speaking Native American people who lived in the region during the early days of white settlement. Historically, the Little Miami formed the eastern boundary of the Symmes Purchase and the western boundary of the Virginia Military District.
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[edit] Ecology
The Little Miami River is home to many species of fish, turtles, frogs, water snakes, birds, mammals and invertebrates. It contains 35 species of mussels, including two threatened species, one of which is endangered. Recently, however, Zebra mussels and Asiatic clams have crowded out native species. The river is protected by a number of nature preserves owned by Little Miami Inc., as well as state and local parks (see below).[1]
The former Peters Cartridge Company factory in Hamilton Township, which closed in 1944 and is now owned by DuPont, was declared a Superfund site in 1996, due to the factory's use for manufacturing gunpowder and ammunition. Since then, studies by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency have established that the site no longer poses an environmental hazard to the nearby river.[2]
[edit] Recreation
The Little Miami River is a National Scenic River. A series of state and local parks and bike trails have been built along the river, including the Little Miami Bike Trail, the Buckeye Trail, and Little Miami Scenic State Park. Most of these trails have been built along the abandoned rail grades that run along the river. The Ohio to Erie Trail project, under construction, aims to link these trails to other trails statewide to create a single bike trail from Lake Erie to the Ohio River.
The Little Miami is also popular among canoers and anglers. There are several canoe liveries along its course and the smallmouth bass fishing in the river is among the best in the state. For a river its size and considering that it drains mainly agricultural land, the water quality of the Little Miami River is excellent. Visitors may see a variety of wildlife including several varieties of turtles, Mallards, and other ducks, Canadian Geese and Blue heron.
[edit] Places and point of interest
The following places, towns, and points of interest are located on the Little Miami starting at the headwaters in Clark County and proceeding down the river to its mouth on the Ohio River.
- Clark County - Headwaters of river
- Greene County, Ohio
- Clifton and Clifton Mill
- John Bryan State Park and Clifton Gorge
- Bellbrook
- Spring Valley
- Warren County
- Waynesville
- Corwin
- Caesars Creek Gorge - mouth of Caesar Creak leading to Caesar Creek Gorge and Lake.
- Oregonia
- Mathers Mill - canoe livery, public access
- Jeremiah Morrow Bridge - Interstate 71 bridge crossing over the river valley
- Fort Ancient - canoe livery, public access
- Morrow - canoe livery, mouth of Todds Fork tributary
- South Lebanon
- Kings Mills - historic Peters Cartridge factory
- Fosters - historic settlement & public access
- Clermont County east side of river, Hamilton County west side of river
- Chateau LaRoche Museum, also known as Loveland Castle (Hamilton County)
- Loveland - canoe livery (Hamilton and Clermont County)
- Lake Isabella Park - (Hamilton County Park)
- Milford - (Clermont County)
- Hamilton County
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Lunken Field - Cincinnati Municipal Airport is along the bank of the river
- Ohio River - mouth of the Little Miami River
[edit] References
- ^ Whitaker, Carrie. "Good, bad news for Little Miami River mussels", The Cincinnati Enquirer, Gannett Company, 2008-01-07. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ Clark, Michael D. "EPA: Old Peters site not polluting", The Cincinnati Enquirer, Gannett Company, 2007-12-19. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Buckeye Trail
- Loveland Bike Trail
- Ohio to Erie Trail
- Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve
- Little Miami, Inc. (LMI), a non-profit conservation group
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