| Illinois River | |
|---|---|
 Illinois River valley,Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge, and LaSalle Rail Bridge near LaSalle, Illinois | |
 Map of the Illinois River watershed | |
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| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of theKankakee andDes Plaines Rivers |
| • location | Grundy County |
| • coordinates | 41°23′37″N88°15′37″W / 41.39361°N 88.26028°W /41.39361; -88.26028 |
| • elevation | 505 ft (154 m) |
| Mouth | Mississippi River |
• location | Grafton |
• coordinates | 38°58′13″N90°27′15″W / 38.97028°N 90.45417°W /38.97028; -90.45417 |
• elevation | 417 ft (127 m) |
| Length | 273 mi (439 km) |
| Basin size | 28,070 sq mi (72,700 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Valley City, about 61.8 mi (99.5 km) from the mouth[1] |
| • average | 23,280 cu ft/s (659 m3/s)[1] |
| • minimum | 1,330 cu ft/s (38 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 123,000 cu ft/s (3,500 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Illinois →Mississippi →Gulf of Mexico |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Kankakee River,Mazon River,Vermilion River,Mackinaw River,Sangamon River |
| • right | Des Plaines River,Fox River,Illinois and Michigan Canal |
| [2][3] | |
TheIllinois River (Miami-Illinois:Inoka Siipiiwi[4]) is a principaltributary of theMississippi River at approximately 273 miles (439 km) in length. Located in theU.S. state ofIllinois,[5] the river has adrainage basin of 28,756.6 square miles (74,479 km2).[6] The Illinois River begins with the confluence of theDes Plaines andKankakee rivers in theChicago metropolitan area, and it generally flows to the southwest across Illinois, until it empties into the Mississippi nearGrafton, Illinois. Its drainage basin extends into southeasternWisconsin, northwesternIndiana, and a very small area of southwesternMichigan in addition to central Illinois. Along its banks are several river ports, including the largest,Peoria, Illinois. Historic and recreation areas on the river includeStarved Rock, and the internationallyimportant wetlands of theEmiquon Complex andDixon Waterfowl Refuge.
The river was important amongNative Americans and French traders as the principal water route connecting theGreat Lakes with the Mississippi. The French colonial settlements along these rivers formed the heart of the area known as theIllinois Country in the 17th and 18th centuries. After the construction of theIllinois and Michigan Canal and theHennepin Canal in the 19th century, the role of the river as link betweenLake Michigan and the Mississippi was extended into the era of modern industrial shipping. The Illinois now forms the basis for theIllinois Waterway, extending the river's capabilities for navigation and commercial shipping.
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The Illinois River is formed by the confluence of theKankakee River and theDes Plaines River in easternGrundy County, approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest ofJoliet. Its other major tributaries include the Fox, Vermilion, Macoupin, Mackinaw, Spoon, Sangamon, and La Moine.[7] This river flows west across northern Illinois, passingMorris andOttawa, where it is joined by theMazon River andFox River respectively. AtLaSalle, the Illinois River is joined by theVermilion River, and then it flows west pastPeru andSpring Valley. In southeasternBureau County it turns south at an area known as the "Great Bend", flowing southwest across western Illinois, pastLacon,Henry and downtownPeoria, the chief city on the river.
South of Peoria, the Illinois River goes byEast Peoria andCreve Coeur and thenPekin inTazewell County. It is then joined by theMackinaw River, and then passes through theChautauqua National Wildlife Refuge. Across fromHavana, the Illinois is joined by theSpoon River coming fromFulton County, and across fromBrowning, it is joined by theSangamon River, which passes through the state capital,Springfield, Illinois. TheLa Moine River flows into it approximately five miles (8 km) southwest ofBeardstown, which is south of Peoria and Pekin and northwest of Lincoln and Springfield.
Near the confluence of the Illinois with theLa Moine River, it turns south, flowing roughly parallel to the Mississippi across western Illinois.Macoupin Creek joins the Illinois on the border betweenGreene andJersey counties, approximately 15 miles (24 km) upstream from the confluence with theMississippi River.
For the last 20 miles (32 km) of its course, the Illinois is separated from the Mississippi River by only about five miles (8 km), by a peninsula of land that makes upCalhoun County. The Illinois joins the Mississippi nearGrafton, approximately 25 miles (40 km) northwest of downtownSt. Louis and about 20 miles (32 km) upstream from the confluence of theMissouri River and the Mississippi.
South ofHennepin, the Illinois River follows the ancient channel of the Mississippi River. TheIllinoian Stage, about 300,000 to 132,000 years ago, blocked the Mississippi nearRock Island, diverting it into its present channel. After the glacier melted, the Illinois River flowed into the ancient channel. TheHennepin Canal roughly follows the ancient channel of the Mississippi upstream of Rock Island.
The modern channel of the Illinois River was shaped in a matter of days by theKankakee Torrent. During the melting of theWisconsin Glacier about 18,500 years ago,[8] a lake formed in present-day Indiana, comparable to one of the modernGreat Lakes. The lake formed behind the terminal moraine of a substage of that glacier.[9] Melting ice to the north eventually raised the level of the lake so that it overflowed the moraine. Thedam 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 "underutilized channel", one far larger than would be needed to contain any conceivable flow of the modern river.
The Illinois River valley has long been an important transportation route for civilizations. The portages between theDes Plaines andChicago Rivers and theKankakee andSt. Joseph rivers allowed Native Americans, Europeans, and later Americans access between theGreat Lakes and theMississippi basin. The firstEuropean presence in the area was theJesuit mission founded in 1675 by FatherJacques Marquette on the banks of the Illinois across fromStarved Rock at theGrand Village of the Illinois, near present-day Utica. TheIllinois Confederation were the primary inhabitants of the valley. Marquette wrote of the river, "We have seen nothing like this river that we enter, as regards its fertility of soil, its prairies and woods; its cattle, elk, deer, wildcats, bustards, swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beaver. There are many small lakes and rivers. That on which we sailed is wide, deep, and still, for 65 leagues."[10]
In 1680,René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built the first fort in Illinois, Ft. St. Louis, atStarved Rock to facilitate the fur trade and defend theIllinois against theIroquois. Later the fort was relocated to the present site ofCreve Coeur, near Peoria. The French retained a presence in the area, with small trading posts.[11]
Prior to the construction of theIllinois & Michigan Canal, completed in 1845, Peoria was the only large settlement on the River. The river's trade flowed downstream to be dominated bySt. Louis. After the I&M Canal was built, a string of cities, such as LaSalle, Peru, and Ottawa grew along the river, extendingChicago's influence into the Mississippi Valley. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the residents of the river towns were deeply involved in harvesting the river's fish, waterfowl,mussels, andice. They were economically and culturally dependent on the river, building up industries such as tourism related to duck hunting and sport fishing, commercial fishing, musseling for the button factories, and ice cutting for early attempts at refrigeration for domestic and commercial use.[12]
With the construction of theChicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the late 19th century, Chicago's sewage was pushed down the river rather than into Lake Michigan.[12]
As the canal declined by the early 1900s, it was eventually replaced by theIllinois Waterway in 1933, which is still in use today.[13]
As late as 2015, thePeoria Riverfront Museum contained a gallery, "Illinois River Encounter," that offered an interpretation of the river through an aquarium tank, and displays of the river's geology, ecology, social history, engineering, and commercial use.[14] The Starved Rock Lock and Dam Visitor Center features exhibits on the Illinois River with a viewing area of the working lock in a site frequented by bald eagles.[15]
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From 1905 to 1915, more freshwater fish were harvested from the Illinois River than from any other river in the United States except for theColumbia River. The Illinois River was once a major source ofmussels for the shell button industry.Overfishing, habitat loss from heavysiltation, andwater pollution have eliminated most commercial fishing except for a small mussel harvest to provide shells to seedpearl oysters overseas. It is commercially fished downstream of the Rt. 89 bridge atSpring Valley. However, an infestation of invasiveAsian carp has crowded out many game fish in the river.[16] The Illinois River is still an important sports fishing waterway with a goodsauger fishery.
The Illinois forms part of a modern waterway that connects theGreat Lakes atChicago to the Mississippi River. The waterway was originally established by the building of theIllinois and Michigan Canal that connected the Illinois River to theChicago River. When theSanitary District of Chicago laterreversed the flow of the Chicago River, the pollution andsewage of the city of Chicago flowed down into the Illinois River. The Illinois and Michigan Canal has since been replaced by theIllinois Waterway, including theChicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. River traffic and flood control is managed by eight locks and dams operated by theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As of 2011, all locks and dams on this waterway are closed to visitors for security reasons, except the Starved Rock Visitor Center, which offers an excellent interpretation of the entire system. The waterway is heavily used by barges transporting bulk goods such as grain and oil. It is used in the summer and early fall by tourists in pleasure boats cruising theGreat Loop. The Illinois River is an important part of the Great Loop, the circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water.
The City of Peoria is developing a long-term plan to reducecombined sewer overflows to the Illinois River, as required by theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency and theIllinois Environmental Protection Agency. During dry weather, sewage flows safely through the city's sewers to the Greater Peoria Sanitation Districtwastewater treatment plant. However, about 28 times a year, melting snow or rainwater can overwhelm the sewers, causing untreated sewage to overflow into the Illinois River. Peoria was required to examine the sewer overflows and prepare a long-term control plan to meetClean Water Act requirements and protect the Illinois River. The city had to submit its plan by December 2008 to U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA.[17] The issue was still under discussion as recently as 2016.[18]
TheJohn Hartford song "Long Hot Summer Day" is written from the perspective of a barge worker on the Illinois River.[19] It references the Illinois towns of Pekin, Beardstown, and Alton.
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