The Detroit River links two of the 5 great lakes...St Clair and Lake Erie. Doesn't that make it a strait?!?

Question

I was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Canada just two miles from Detroit, Michigan, USA by bridge or tunnel.

I loved to watch the Detroit skyline, fishing along the Canadian shore of the Detroit River, admiring the great lake freighters crossing between two great lakes.

The Detroit River flows south from Lake St Clair into Lake Erie and is part of the boundary between Ontario and Michigan.

As part of the St Lawrence Seaway, it is heavily travelled by those HUGE lake freighter vessels, because its really the "strait" between two great lakes.

The name comes from the French word "de troit" for strait or narrows. Then why is it not called the Detroit Strait.

The Detroit River is 52 km long. Is its name a mis-nomer?

What should it be called if you are in charge.

Monday was Thanksgiving Day in Canada. I give thanks to God for the rivers of Canada. Like blood vessels in our bodies, rivers give life to our country!

There are approximately thirty Canadian Heritage Rivers, and this one is on the list. It was just added in 2001, along with the slightly longer Main River of Newfoundland.

Answer 1

Lake St Clair is not considered one of the Great Lakes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes

What Moses wrote: 5 books of law, were called great,
but also notably a "great terror" to all Israel: Dt 34:12.

The Great Lakes are now called Troubled Waters
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-75-1390/science_technology/great_lakes_pollution/

This should ring a Bible bell about the impotent man,
who wanted help to get into the troubled waters,
but rather was helaed by seven grace us words;
And when later found giving praise to law for it, he's told:
sin(law) no more, lest your latter end be a worse-end.

This Thanksgiving in Canada I gave thanks to God that
the word "worst" is not even found in the New Testament,
and the "worse" case scenario in Revelation ends with grace:

The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen.

Answer 2

Upon looking up some definitions of "river," I couldn't find an official length. However, I did Google "worlds shortest river" and a few sources say that it's 200 feet long. If you can accept the Guiness Book of World Records' definition of a river, then a stream that is 52km long can technically be a river, and therefore not a misnomer.

Wikipedia states that "it is not a strait by definition," but doesn't explain why not.

My guess is that when it was first discovered, people weren't too concerned about the differences between straits and rivers. The meaning could very have been confused in translation, or simple ignorance. I can picture some guy in charge arching his eyebrow at his companion: "It means strait? Boy, this here is a RIVER."

And the name stuck.

:)

Answer 3

As you see from the other answers. Sailors are a practical bunch & always willing to help out. All good observations. Since you mentioned lake Erie, would add that there is a rule of thumb that for a first time owner, it might be best to go with the smallest boat that is suitable & safe for the worst conditions you might expect. esp if trailering is a requirement. There can be too much or too little boat for your intended use. Always a good idea to visit marinas & clubs to pick the brains of the locals. After a while, you will get a handle on what might be best for you. in terms of size, new or used & what your wallet can take. Sailed the lower Hudson river for many years & conditions there, as on lake Erie can change fast. You can go from a leisurely cruise to white knuckles very quickly. So keep an eye out for ease of handling & safety for the number of passengers. There are substantial boats in the 25 to 30 foot range( even smaller) that are up to almost any weather that will have decent room below for shelter,changing , cooking, sleeping , & a head . Anyhow sailing is a joy, some art ,some science,as well as a sport. Learn well & you will never regret it. Getting a little misty since I just parted with my boat, so that's it for me. Best regards

Answer 4

Take a look at the definition of a strait.

The Detroit River is about 32 miles (51 km) long and 0.5 to 2.5 miles (1–4 km) wide in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from French Rivière du Détroit, i.e. "River of the Strait". The name is a reference to the fact that the river connects Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie. However, it is not a strait by definition. The boundary between Canada and the United States of America passes through the river lengthwise. Its elevation is 579 feet (175 m) above sea level.
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A strait is a narrow channel of water that connects two larger bodies of water, and thus lies between two land masses. The terms strait, channel, passage, sound, and firth can be synonymous and interchangeable, although each is sometimes differentiated with varying senses. Many straits are economically important. Straits can lie on important shipping routes, and wars have been fought for control of these straits. Numerous artificial channels, called canals, have been constructed to connect two bodies of water over land.

Although rivers and canals often form a bridge between two large lakes or a lake and a sea, and these seem to suit the formal definition of straits, they are not usually referred to as straits. Straits are typically much larger, wider structures that do not have water running in a single direction, and normally connect two seas.


The Detroit river has water running in a single direction hence it is not a strait. And if I was in charge it be called the Detroit River, which by definition it is. Not to mention the fact that changin the name would prove to be ungodly costly.

Answer 5

A Strait is an oceanic term, such as the Florida Strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, or the Strait of Gibraltar that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea, or the Strait of Juan De Fuca which is connects the Pacific Ocean the the Puget Sound in the American northwest. A strait will always connect some body of water directly to the ocean system and is not used in lake systems which is called rivers.

Answer 6

Water flows in the top and flows out the bottom. Unlike water flowing through one of the lakes, which can take months or years, it only takes a few days. That's a river, not a strait.

By the same logic, you'd call the Niagra River the Niagra Straight. Clearly, that isn't right.

Huge vessels ply the Mississippi, too, but we don't consider it to be a straight connecting Lake Itasca with the Gulf of Mexico.

Answer 7

I am not a geographer, so I can't give you precise definitions of the terms. But I would consider it a river, because the water consistently flows from one body to the other, always in the same direction.

Consider another nearby link between 2 lakes - the Straits of Mackinac that links Lakes Huron and Michigan. But because these lakes are at the same elevation, there is little or no current that flows consistently in the same direction here. I've boated and been scuba diving in these waters, and sometimes the current is east to west, sometimes west to east, and sometimes both, when there is a flow in one direction at the surface, but another underwater.

Answer 8

Yes and no (unhelpful, I know). Yes, technically it meets the definition of a strait, but the word strait is usually used to mean a stretch of water connected two seas or oceans, rather than two lakes. Similarly, the Panama Canal meets the definition, but is unlikely to be called a strait.

Answer 9

Nah the straigts are in the UP man.

Up near the sault ste marie locks.