Sandusky River

The Sandusky River (Wyandot: saandusti; Shawnee: Potakihiipi ^[1]) is a tributary to Lake Erie in north-central Ohio in the United States. It is about 133 miles (214 km) long^[2] and flows into Lake Erie at the southwest side of Sandusky Bay.

The Sandusky River, like the Maumee River to the west, is home to the annual walleye run in the spring, specifically March–April. The river also receives a run of white bass around the same time in the spring. The numbers of walleye that return to spawn upstream are not as great as those that return to the Maumee River. The Ballville Dam, built on the Sandusky River in Fremont, Ohio, blocked migration for walleye and other fish. As fish can swim farther upstream in the Maumee, they have access to more spawning areas and have developed a larger population than in the Sandusky River.

Opponents of the dam projected that its removal would improve access for walleye and other migratory fish to areas upstream and lead to an increase in their population, as has happened on other rivers where dams have been removed. The Ballville Dam was no longer used for power generation or navigation improvements. The city of Fremont undertook a study to explore the options of tearing it down or repairing it. A 2014 study found that removal would have little adverse effect on city conditions and would strongly improve the fisheries. In 2016 voters approved taking down the dam.^[3] (Note: The Balville dam was demolished in July 2018).

The river's name derives from the Wyandot words saandusti, meaning "water (within water-pools)"^[4] or from andusti, meaning "cold water".^[5] It was transliterated in various spellings by French and English colonists.

Course

The Sandusky River begins at the juncture of Paramour Creek and Allen Run at the unincorporated community of Leesville in Crawford County west of Crestline,^[6] and initially flows westwardly, passing through the town of Bucyrus. In Wyandot County, the river turns northward for the remainder of its course, flowing through Seneca and Sandusky counties and passing the towns of Upper Sandusky, Tiffin and Fremont before entering Sandusky Bay.

In 1970, the river's course between Upper Sandusky and Fremont was designated as a State Scenic River by the government of Ohio.

Little Sandusky River

The Little Sandusky River is a minor tributary of the Sandusky. It flows 14.0 miles (22.5 km)^[2] northward from near Brush Ridge in northern Marion County and joins the Sandusky in southern Wyandot County.^[7]

Variant names

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Sandusky River has also been known as:

Potake Sepe
Riviere Blanc
Riviere Sanduski
San-doo-stee River^[6]

References

^ "Shawnees Webpage". Shawnee's Reservation. 1997. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 19, 2011
^ "Removal of Ballville Dam gets approval", Toledo Blade, 29 October 2016
^ Johnston, John (1858). Vocabularies of the Shawanoese and Wyandott Languages, etc. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
^ "Wyandot Dictionary" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-10-20.
^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Sandusky River
^ Maccracken, Jim, Wyandot County Ohio Fishing & Floating Guide Book: Complete fishing and floating information for Wyandot County Ohio, Recreational Guides, Jul 1, 2017.

External links

Ohio DNR Sandusky State Scenic River website
Sandusky River Watershed Coalition
Sandusky River - Ohio History Central

Protected areas of Ohio

Federal

National parks	Cuyahoga Valley
National historical parks and sites	Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP First Ladies NHS Hopewell Culture NHP James A. Garfield NHS William Howard Taft NHS
National monuments	Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers
National memorials	David Berger Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial
National trails	North Country Trail
National forests	Wayne
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Big Darby Creek Little Beaver Creek Little Darby Creek Little Miami River
National Wildlife Refuges	Cedar Point Ottawa West Sister Island
National estuarine research reserve	Old Woman Creek
National Natural Landmarks	Brown's Lake Bog Cedar Bog Dysart Woods Fort Hill State Memorial Glen Helen Nature Preserve Mantua Bog State Nature Preserve Tinker's Creek Gorge

State

State parks	Adams Lake Alum Creek A. W. Marion Barkcamp Beaver Creek Blue Rock Buck Creek Buckeye Lake Burr Oak Caesar Creek Catawba Island Cleveland Lakefront Cowan Lake Deer Creek Delaware Dillon East Fork East Harbor Findley Forked Run Geneva Grand Lake St. Marys Great Council Great Seal Guilford Lake Harrison Lake Headlands Beach Hocking Hills Hueston Woods Independence Dam Indian Lake Jackson Lake Jefferson Lake John Bryan Kelleys Island Kiser Lake Lake Alma Lake Hope Lake Logan Lake Loramie Lake Milton Lake White Little Miami Madison Lake Malabar Farm Marblehead Lighthouse Mary Jane Thurston Middle Bass Island Maumee Bay Mohican Mosquito Lake Mount Gilead Muskingum River Nelson Kennedy Ledges Paint Creek Pike Lake Portage Lakes Punderson Pymatuning Quail Hollow Rocky Fork Salt Fork Scioto Trail Shawnee South Bass Island Stonelick Strouds Run Sycamore Tar Hollow Tinkers Creek Van Buren West Branch Wingfoot Lake Wolf Run
State forests	Beaver Creek Blue Rock Brush Creek Dean Fernwood Gifford Harrison Hocking Maumee Mohican-Memorial Perry Pike Richland Furnace Scioto Trail Shade River Shawnee Sunfish Creek Tar Hollow Yellow Creek Zaleski
State nature preserves	Acadia Cliffs Adams Lake Prairie Audubon Islands Augusta-Anne Olsen Aurora Sanctuary Baker Woods Betsch Fen Bigelow Cemetery Blackhand Gorge Bonnet Pond Boord Brown's Lake Bog Burton Wetlands Caesar Creek Gorge Carmean Woods Cedar Bog Chaparral Prairie Christmas Rocks Clear Creek Clear Fork Gorge Clifton Gorge Compass Plant Prairie Conkle's Hollow Cooperrider-Kent Bog Crabill Fen Cranberry Bog Crane Hollow Crooked Run Culberson Woods Davey Woods Davis Memorial Drew Woods Dupont Marsh Eagle Creek Edward Thomas Emerald Hills Erie Sand Barrens Etawah Woods Evans Beck Memorial Flatiron Lake Bog Fowler Woods Frame Lake Fen Gahanna Woods Gallagher/Springfield Fen Goll Woods Goode Prairie Gott Fen Greenbelt Greenville Falls Gross Memorial Woods Hatch-Otis Halls Creek Headlands Dunes Howard Collier Hueston Woods Hutchins (Highland) Irwin Prairie Jackson Bog Johnson Ridge Johnson Woods Karlo Fen Kendrick Woods Kessler Swamp Kiser Lake Wetlands Kitty Todd Knox Woods Kyle Woods Ladd Natural Bridge Lake Katharine Lakeside Daisy Lawrence Woods Little Rocky Hollow Lou Campbell Mantua Bog Marie J. Desonier Marsh Wetlands McCracken Fen Mentor Marsh Milford Center Railroad Prairie Miller Morris Woods Mud Lake Bog Myersville Newberry North Pond North Shore Alvar Novak Sanctuary Old Woman Creek Owens/Liberty Fen Pallister Pickerington Ponds Portage Lakes Wetland Prairie Road Fen Raven Rock Rhododendeon Cove Riddle Rockbridge Rome Rothenbuhler Woods Saltpetre Cave Sears Woods Seymour Woods Shallenberger Sharon Woods Gorge Sheepskin Hollow Sheick Hollow Sheldon Marsh Shoemaker Siegenthaler-Kaestner Esker Smith Cemetery Spring Beauty Dell Spring Brook Sanctuary Springville Marsh Stage's Pond Strait Creek Prairie Stratford Woods Swamp Cottonwood Tinker's Creek Travertine Fen Triangle Lake Bog Trillium Trails Tummonds Walter Tucker Warder-Perkins Whipple White Pine Bog Forest William C. McCoy Zimmerman Prairie
State scenic rivers	Big Darby Creek Chagrin River Conneaut Creek Cuyahoga River Grand River Greenville Creek Kokosing River Little Beaver Creek Little Darby Creek Little Miami River Maumee River Mohican River Olentangy River Sandusky River Stillwater River

Regional

Metro Parks	Ashtabula County Metroparks Cleveland Metroparks Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks Erie MetroParks Five Rivers MetroParks Geauga Park District Great Parks of Hamilton County Johnny Appleseed Metro Parks Lake Metroparks Lorain County Metro Parks Metroparks of Butler County Metroparks Toledo Mill Creek MetroParks Summit Metro Parks Trumbull County MetroParks