Illinois River

The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 273 miles (439 km) long, in the state of Illinois in the United States. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of 40,000 square miles (104,000 km²). The river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route connecting the Great Lakes with the Mississippi. The colonial settlements along the river formed the heart of the area known as the Illinois Country. After the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Hennepin Canal in the 19th century, the river's role as link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi was extended into the era of modern industrial shipping.

Description

It is formed by the confluence of the Kankakee and Des Plaines rivers in western Grundy County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) southwest of Joliet. It flows west across northern Illinois, passing Morris and Ottawa, where it is joined by the Mazon River and Fox River. At La Salle it is joined by the Vermilion River, then flows west past Peru, and Spring Valley. In southeastern Bureau County it turns south at an area known as the "Great Bend", flowing southwest across western Illinois, past Lacon and downtown Peoria, the chief city on the river.

South of Peoria it is joined by the Mackinaw River and then passes through the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge. Opposite Havana it is joined by the Spoon River. Opposite Browning it is joined by the Sangamon River. It is joined by the La Moine River approximately 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Beardstown.

South of its confluence with the La Moine, it turns south, flowing roughly parallel with the Mississippi across southwestern Illinois. It is joined by the Macoupin Creek on the border between Greene and Jersey counties, approximately 15 mi (24 km) upstream from its confluence with the Mississippi.

For the last 20 mi (32 km) of its course, it is separated from the Mississippi by only 5 mi (8 km). It joins the Mississippi near Grafton, approximately 25 mi (40 km) northwest of downtown St. Louis and approximately 20 mi (32 km) upstream from the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi.

History

South of Hennepin, the Illinois River is actually following the ancient channel of the Mississippi River. The Illinoian Glaciation, about 200,000 to 125,000 years before present, blocked the Mississippi near Rock Island, diverting it into its present channel. After the glacier melted, the Illinois River flowed into the ancient channel. The Hennepin Canal roughly follows the ancient channel of the Mississippi upstream to Rock Island.

The modern channel of the Illinois River was shaped in matter of days by the Kankakee Torrent. During the melting of the Wisconsin Glacier, about 10,000 years before present, a lake formed in Indiana, comparable to one of the modern Great Lakes. The lake formed behind the terminal morraine of a substage of that glacier. Melting ice to the north eventually raised the level of the lake so that it overtopped the morraine. The dam burst, and the entire volume of the lake was released in a very short time, perhaps a few days.

Because of the manner of its formation, the Illinois River runs through a deep canyon with many rock formations. It has an "underutilised channel", a channel that is far larger than would be needed to contain any conceivable flow in modern times.

The Illinois River valley was one of the strongholds of the Illiniwek confederation of Native Americans. The French first met the natives here in 1673. The first European settlement in the state of Illinois was the Jesuit mission founded in 1675 by Father Jacques Marquette on the banks of the Illinois at Starved Rock. In 1680, Robert Cavelier de La Salle built the first fort in Illinois, Ft. St. Louis, at Starved Rock and later relocated to the present site of Creve Coeur, near Peoria, where the Jesuits relocated.

Modern use

From 1905 to 1915, more freshwater fish were harvested from the Illinois than from any other river in the United States except for the Columbia River. The river was once a major source of mussels for the shell button industry. Overfishing, habitat loss due to heavy siltation and pollution have eliminated most commercial fishing except for a small mussel harvest to provide shells to seed pearl oysters overseas. It is still commercially fished downstream of the Rt. 89 bridge at Spring Valley. The river is still an important sports fishing resource with a world class Sauger fishery.

The river serves as a water source for many Central Illinois towns and cities, including Jacksonville, Illinois.

The Illinois forms part of a modern waterway that connects the Great Lakes at Chicago, Illinois to the Mississippi River. The waterway was originally established by the building of the Illinois and Michigan Canal which connected the Illinois River to the Chicago River. When the Chicago River was later reversed, the pollution and sewage of the city of Chicago flowed down into the Illinois River. The Illinois and Michigan Canal has since been replaced by the Illinois Waterway including the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The river is controlled by five locks and dams to facilitate river traffic. The waterway is heavily trafficked by barges transporting bulk goods such as grain and oil.

Cities and towns along the Illinois River

References

"Geology Underfoot in Illinois", Raymond Wiggers, 1997

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Description

History

Modern use

Cities and towns along the Illinois River

References

See also