Flint River

What Is Flint River?

What is Flint River? Is it the Flint River Ranch Pet Foods company, the Flint River in Georgia, the Flint River in Michigan, the Flint River Trail in Iowa, Flint River in Alabama, Jamaica's Flint River — or all of the above?

Flint River Ranch Pet Foods

Flint River most commonly refers to the Flint River Ranch Pet Food company, or Flint River Food, which manufactures a line of specialty all natural pet foods. The privately held company is owned by Jim Flint and is headquartered in Roswell, Georgia, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The "Flint River" in the Flint River Ranch company is named for Georgia's Flint River (more on the Flint River GA. below).

Flint River Ranch (FRR) competes in the holistic and all natural pet foods category with the likes of Orijen, Wysong, Natura Pet Foods, Wellness, and Blue Buffalo. Flint River Ranch sells its "super premium" dry dog food and cat food formulas both directly and through independent distributors, similar to companies like Life's Abundance Pet Foods.

Flint River Ranch is best known for its "direct to your door" delivery of pet foods, its use of ingredients grown only in the United States and New Zealand (the lamb in its Lamb and Rice dog foods), and the fact that it has never had any of its cat foods or dog foods recalled. These aspects helped the company gain recognition and widespread support in the wake of the international pet food recalls in 2007 due to melamine contamination.

Today the company operates from its headquarters at 245 Hembree Park Dr, Suite 110, Roswell GA 30076, and delivers its foods via UPS from more than fifteen distribution facilities located across the country to residents in all areas of the United States.

The Flint River in Georgia

As mentioned earlier, the "Flint River" in the Flint River Ranch company comes from the beautiful Flint River in western Georgia. Along with the Apalachicola and the Chattahoochee, the more than 200-mile-long Flint River forms part of the ACF basin (Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint Rivers).

Named for the stones found along its shores, the Flint River Ga. passes through Lake Blackshear (near Cordele, Georgia) and Lake Chehaw (near Albany, Georgia) before converging with the Chattahoochee River at the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam where the rivers merge to create Lake Seminole.

Flint River Float "From its humble beginning at the base of the world's busiest airport [Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport], the Flint River quickly transforms into one of the most beautiful wild and scenic riverine environments in Georgia," describes the Sherpa Guides. "The Flint River continues to flow freely through one of the most naturally beautiful and ecologically diverse sections of Georgia."

"The natural history of the river includes catastrophic floods that have submerged the floodplain and its inhabitants, and extreme droughts that have reduced the river to a fraction of its normal flow. Through it all, the impressive diversity and beauty of plant and animal life that are characteristic of the entire Flint River system have remained."

Ironically (given its history of floods), it's been Georgia's severe drought in recent years that has posed one of the largest threats to the FlintRiver, especially the Lower Flint, due to its shallow aquifer discharge. But the river remains a vital piece to Georgia, both for its delicate ecosystems and value as a water source.

The Flint River is also a rich resource for tourism and leisure. Its most prominent tourist attraction is in the city of Albany, which opened the Flint RiverQuarium in September 2004. The Flint River Quarium is an aquarium that features a 175,000-gallon, 22-foot-deep, "blue hole" filled with the flora and fauna found in the Flint River's ecosystem.

The Flint River in Michigan

Flint River also refers to the Flint River in the Flint region of Michigan. The 142-mile-long river flows through Flint, Michigan, and the counties of Genesee, Lapeer, and Saginaw. The city of Flint, Michigan, is located on the river about 60 miles north of Detroit and is the fourth largest city in Michigan.

Michigan's Flint River is an important source of tourism and leisure, and is highlighted by the Flint River Trail that runs along the Flint River from downtown Flint to the northern edge of Flint and on to Bluebell Beach and Stepping Stone Falls, where it resumes at the Bluegill Boat Launch and goes to the City of Genesee.

More on Michigan's Flint River and Flint River Trail:

» Flint River Watershed Coalition
» Friends of the Flint River Trail
» The City of Flint, Michigan

Flint River in Iowa

Flint River also refers to Iowa's Flint River as well as to the small township of Flint River in the state. Flint River Trail Iowa's Flint River extends from the Mississippi River and runs through southeastern Iowa near the city of Burlington.

The river is known for the Flint River Trail, a planned trail approximately 20 miles in length that extends from downtown Burlington to Big Hollow Recreation Area in northern Des Moines County.

Expected to be completed in 2013, the Flint River Trail will connect the Mississippi River Trail, downtown Burlington, the Port of Burlington, Riverside Park, Starr's Cave Park & Preserve, Thye Woods Habitat Preserve, Historic Zion School, and Big Hollow Recreation Area through the Flint River Valley.

More on Iowa's Flint River and Flint River Trail:

» The Flint River Trail in Iowa
» Flint River Trail Brochure (PDF)
» Des Moines County Conservation

Other Flint Rivers

Additional Flint Rivers include the Flint River that runs through Alabama and Tennessee as well as Flint River in Jamaica.

Alabama's Flint River runs through North Alabama and central Tennessee, and the Flint River watershed encompasses approximately 568 square miles, with the majority in Madison County, Alabama, and Lincoln County, Tennessee.

Jamaica's Flint River is located on the northwest side of the island in the parish of Hanover between Montego Bay and Negril, Jamaica. The area is home to the Flint River Great House, where the movie Cool Runnings was filmed.

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