Detroit River,Ontario,
A Unique International Heritage
Designated in 2001

The Detroit River is unique in Canada, the United States and indeed, the world. It is a waterway between two sovereign countries with its shores embracing the largest metropolitan area on any international border - but rather than separating communities along its banks, the river connects them culturally and economically. More than 14,000,000 vehicles and 8,000 commercial ships cross the Detroit River annually, making it the busiest international border crossing point in North America and a key transportation route in the Great Lakes system linking Lake St. Clair with Lake Erie.

The Windsor-Detroit area has a fascinating history of settlement, trade, culture and industrialization centred around the Detroit River. Archaeological finds date North American Indians at river front sites as early as 400 A.D. Europeans reached the area around 1650 and reaped the benefits of the river's rich natural resources. The river has a fascinating 300-year history as a strategic location for defense and was an integral part of the Underground Railway. Numerous pleasure craft, tug boats, lake freighters and ocean vessels now ply the waters past parks, farm lands, historic sites and the major urban centres of Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan.

The Detroit River received American Heritage River designation in 1998. With its designation to the CHRS in 2001. it is the first River with dual designations. Check out these web sites: http://www.erca.org; http://www.epa.gov/rivers/ 98rivers/detroit.html