Thunder Bay River

The Thunder Bay River is a 75.4-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It drains much of Alpena County and Montmorency County, and a small portion of Oscoda County, into Thunder Bay, a bay of Lake Huron, on the eastern side of northern Michigan.

Photo: Chris Rycroft, CC BY 2.0.

Places of Interest

Highlights include Second Avenue Bridge and Alpena Light.

Second Avenue Bridge

Bridge

Photo: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Alpena Light

Lighthouse

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.5.

The Alpena Light, also known as the Thunder Bay River Lighthouse or Alpena Breakwater Light, is a lighthouse on Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan. Standing on the north breakwater of Alpena Harbor, the light marks the entrance to the Thunder Bay River from Thunder Bay.

Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan

Museum

The Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan is a community museum serving Alpena County and surrounding counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Alpena is a port city on Lake Huron.

Places in the Area

Nearby places include Alpena.

Alpena

Photo: Ipoellet, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Alpena is the only city in and the county seat of Alpena County, Michigan, United States. The population was 10,197 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populated city in the Northern Michigan region, after Traverse City and Cadillac.

Thunder Bay River

Type: River
Description: river in Michigan, United States
Category: body of water
Location: Alpena, Michigan, Midwest, United States, North America
View on OpenStreetMap

Latitude

45.06661° or 45° 3′ 60″ north

Longitude

-83.43201° or 83° 25′ 55″ west

Elevation

581 feet (177 metres)

Open location code

86QR3H89+J5

OpenStreetMap ID

way 201803645

OpenStreetMap feature

natural=water

OpenStreetMap feature

water=river

GeoNames ID

5012218

Wikidata ID

Q7798941

This page is based on OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikipedia.

We’d love your help improving our open data sources. Thank you for contributing.

Satellite Map

Discover Thunder Bay River from above in high-definition satellite imagery.

In Other Languages

From Catalan to Welsh—“Thunder Bay River” goes by many names.

Catalan: “Thunder Bay”
Cebuano: “Thunder Bay River”
Irish: “Abhainn Thunder Bay”
Venetian: “Thunder Bay”
Vietnamese: “sông Thunder Bay”
Vietnamese: “sông Vịnh Thunder”
Welsh: “Afon Thunder Bay”

Places with the Same Name

Discover other places named “Thunder Bay River”.

Localities in the Area

Explore places such as Alpena Junction and Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC).

Notable Places Nearby

Highlights include Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Trail and Lady Michigan.

Michigan: Must-Visit Destinations

Delve into Detroit, Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Grand Rapids.

Curious Places to Discover

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