Cuyahoga River
| Cuyahoga River | |
|---|---|
The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland | |
Map of the Cuyahoga River drainage basin | |
| Native name | Gayó'ha'geh (Seneca) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Ohio |
| Counties | Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage, Geauga |
| Cities | Cleveland, Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Kent |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • coordinates | 41°26′26″N 81°09′07″W / 41.44056°N 81.15194°W Confluence of East Branch Cuyahoga River and West Branch Cuyahoga River near Pond Road and Rapids Road, Burton, Geauga County, Ohio |
| • elevation | 1,093 feet (333.1 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Lake Erie at Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio |
• coordinates | 41°30′13″N 81°42′44″W / 41.50361°N 81.71222°W |
• elevation | 571 feet (174.0 m) |
| Length | 84.9 miles (136.6 km) |
| Basin size | 809 square miles (2,100 km2) |
The Cuyahoga River (see § Pronunciation) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that feeds into Lake Erie.
The Cuyahoga River bisects the city of Cleveland. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so much so that it caught fire at least 14 times. When it did so on June 22, 1969, news coverage of the event helped to spur the American environmental movement. For many Americans, the Cuyahoga's burning helped connect urban decay with the environmental crisis at the time in many American cities. Since then, the river has been extensively cleaned up through the efforts of Cleveland's city government and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). In 2019, the American Rivers conservation association named the Cuyahoga "River of the Year" in honor of "50 years of environmental resurgence".
In 2025, the river between the Gorge Dam and the mouth was designated a National Water Trail, a type of National Recreation Trail.