<P> The river's name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, meaning River of the Strait . The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world . The river travels west and south from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie, and the whole river is coterminous with the border between Canada and the United States . </P> <P> The river serves as an important transportation route connecting Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior to the St. Lawrence Seaway and Erie Canal . When Detroit underwent rapid industrialization at the turn of the 20th century, the Detroit River became notoriously polluted and toxic . In recent years, however, the ecological importance of the river has warranted a vast restoration effort, and the river today has a wide variety of economical and recreational uses . There are numerous islands in the Detroit River, and much of the lower portion of the river is incorporated into the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge . The portion of the river in the city of Detroit has been organized into the Detroit International Riverfront and the William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor . The Detroit River is designated an American Heritage River and a Canadian Heritage River--the only river to have this dual designation . </P> <P> The Detroit River flows for 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie . By definition, this classifies it as both a river and a strait--a strait being a narrow passageway connecting two large bodies of water, which is how the river earned its name from early French settlers . However, today, the Detroit River is rarely referred to as a strait, because bodies of water referred to as straits are typically much wider . The Detroit River is only 0.5 to 2.5 miles (0.80 to 4.02 km) wide . The Detroit River starts on an east to west flow but then bends and runs north to south . The deepest portion of the Detroit River is 53 feet (16 m) deep in the northern portion of the river . At its source, the river is at an elevation of 574 feet (175 m) above sea level . The river drops only three feet before entering into Lake Erie at 571 feet (174 m). As the river contains no dams and no locks, it is easily navigable by even the smallest of vessels . The watershed basin for the Detroit River is approximately 700 square miles (1,800 km). Since the river is fairly short, it has few tributaries . Its largest tributary is the River Rouge in Michigan, which is actually four times longer than the Detroit River and contains most of the basin . The only other major American tributary to the Detroit River is the much smaller Ecorse River . Tributaries on the Canadian side include Little River, Turkey Creek and the River Canard . The discharge for the Detroit River is relatively high for a river of its size . The river's average discharge is approximately 188,000 cubic feet per second (5,324 m3 / s), and the river's flow is constant . </P> <P> The Detroit River forms a major element of the international border between the United States and Canada . The river on the American side is all under the jurisdiction of Wayne County, Michigan, and the Canadian side is under the administration of Essex County, Ontario . The largest city along the Detroit River is Detroit, and most of the population along the river lives in Michigan . The Detroit River has only two automobile traffic crossings connecting the United States and Canada: the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit--Windsor Tunnel . Both of these are heavily protected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency . </P>

What is the deepest part of the detroit river