Little Calumet-Galien Watershed
Watersheds: Little Calumet-Galien
Little Calumet-Galien Watershed
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The Little Calumet-Galien Watershed lies mostly in northwestern Indiana, where it drains about 327,000 acres. Smaller portions of the watershed lie in Illinois and Michigan. The watershed drains northern portions of Lake County, Porter County, and LaPorte County, and a small part of the northwest corner of Saint Joseph County.
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Source: USDA
There are several rivers and watercourses in this watershed, and some of them have seen their flows diverted for transportation and industrial purposes. The Grand Calumet River flows west from Gary into Hammond and East Chicago, where most of its flow discharges into Lake Michigan via the Indiana Harbor Canal.
The Little Calumet River has an East Branch and a West Branch that join before discharging into Lake Michigan at Burns Harbor. Deep River is a major tributary of the West Branch, while Salt Creek, Sand Creek, and Coffee Creek are important tributaries of the East Branch.
Trail Creek drains a large area of northwest LaPorte County; it enters Lake Michigan at Michigan City. Further east, the Galena River and its tributaries drain much of northern LaPorte County before joining the Galien River in Michigan. The Galien River enters Lake Michigan at New Buffalo, Michigan.
Water from all of these rivers ends up in the Atlantic Ocean via the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
The United States Geological Survey has assigned the Little Calumet-Galien Watershed an 8-Digit Hydrologic Unit Code of 04040001.