Bad River

The Bad River is a river flowing to Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin in the United States. It flows for in Ashland County, draining an area of in portions of Ashland, Bayfield and Iron counties. The Bad River sloughs were designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on February 2, 2012.CourseThe Bad River issues from the southwestern end of Caroline Lake, a 129acre shallow lake on the boundary of Ashland and Iron counties which drains an area of acidic peatlands to its east. The Bad River initially flows southwestwardly before turning generally to the north for most of its course, along which it passes through the city of Mellen, Copper Falls State Park, and the community of Odanah in the Bad River Indian Reservation. In the vicinity of Mellen, the riverbed is commonly bedrock and boulder-strewn with numerous whitewater rapids; the river passes over waterfalls and through a granite gorge in Copper Falls State Park. In its lower course in the Bad River Reservation the river's delta along Lake Superior contributes to a 16,000acre complex of wetlands known as sloughs.