Carp River (Marquette County)
The Carp River is a 21.9-mile (35.2 km) river in Marquette County on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It begins at Deer Lake in Ishpeming Township and flows east and northeast through forests and wetlands before emptying into Lake Superior at Marquette Bay, just south of the city of Marquette. Along the way, Morgan Creek joins at Morgan Falls, a roughly 20-foot (6 m) cascade about two miles south of the city limits, and there are other nearby drops often called Carp River Falls. The U.S. Geological Survey has stream gauges on the river near U.S. Highway 41 and near Old M-28, and the drainage area is about 51 square miles (133 km²).
The river drains glacial till and bedrock uplands of the Marquette Range, creating short gorges where resistant rock forms ledges and falls in the lower valley. Wetlands fill many flats, and the surrounding uplands feature mixed northern hardwood and conifer forests. The Carp River valley is tied to the area’s early ironmaking. In 1847–1848, the Jackson Mining Company built the Carp River Forge near present-day Negaunee, producing the first iron in the region on February 10, 1848. A spring snowmelt washed out the dam, and the works struggled with variable flows, ending by 1854.
Today, parts of the river valley are popular for hiking, fishing, and mountain biking. The Noquemanon Trail Network maintains the South Trails in the Carp River hills, including the Flow trail and connections to other singletrack and multi-use routes.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 06:27 (CET).