| Bad River | |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Michigan |
| Subdivision Type3: | Counties |
| Subdivision Name3: | Gratiot, Saginaw |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 43.2414°N -84.6397°W |
| Mouth: | Shiawassee River |
| Mouth Location: | Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 43.3236°N -84.0894°W |
| Length: | 44.3miles |
| Discharge1 Location: | mouth |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 263.77cuft/s (estimate)[1] |
The Bad River is a 44.3adj=midNaNadj=mid[2] river in Michigan. It rises in Newark Township near the city of Ithaca in Gratiot County and flows in a north-easterly direction into Saginaw County, and through the village of St. Charles, before emptying into the Shiawassee River within the bounds of the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge.[3]
The river and its tributaries have a total combined length of 175miles; most of it channelized.[3] Land use within the surrounding watershed is 86.5 percent agricultural; as a result, the river system has been adversely impacted by sedimentation.[4]
The name "Bad River" comes from the Chippewa Indians who called the river "maw-tchi-sebe" or quite literally, "bad river," because of how difficult it was for them to navigate it.[5]