Muskegon (məskē´gən), city (1990 pop. 40,283), seat of Muskegon co., W Mich., on Lake Michigan; inc. as a city 1869. A port of entry, the city is a car-ferry terminus and a shipping point for a farm, fruit, and industrial region. Among its many manufactures are automobile parts and engines, foundry products, chemicals, paper products, sports equipment, ink pigments, gasoline pumps, and heavy machinery. A fur-trading post was established there c.1810. The first sawmill was built in 1837, and the lumber industry thrived until 1890, when the city was swept by fire.

Muskegon, river, 227 mi (365 km) long, rising in Houghton Lake, N central Mich., and flowing SW to Lake Michigan at Muskegon. At its mouth the river widens into Muskegon Lake, forming a harbor c.2.5 mi (4 km) wide and c.5.5 mi (8.9 km) long.