You can mark you interesting snippets of text that will be available through a unique link in your browser.


Illinois River

Translation
Illinois River
River, northeastern Illinois, U.S. Formed by the junction of the Des Plaines River and Kankakee River in Illinois, it flows southwest across the state, joining the Mississippi River after a course of 273 mi (440 km).

It drains an area of 25,000 sq mi (65,000 sq km) and occasionally broadens into wide expanses, such as Peoria Lake.

* * *

      navigable stream of northern and central Illinois, U.S. It is formed by the junction of the Des Plaines (Des Plaines River) and Kankakee (Kankakee River) rivers in Grundy county, about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Joliet. It flows generally west across the state until just north of Hennepin, where it turns abruptly south and flows generally southwest and south to join the Mississippi River at Grafton after a course of 273 miles (440 km). The Illinois drains an area of approximately 29,000 square miles (75,000 square km) and occasionally broadens into wide expanses such as Peoria Lake. The Illinois and Michigan Canal, constructed (1848) from the Chicago River to the Illinois River at a point near La Salle, made navigation between these streams and shipping between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico possible. The nearly 100-mile (160-km) canal ceased to be used when the Illinois Waterway (linking the Chicago River, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and the Des Plaines and Illinois rivers) opened in 1933. (The canal and its banks, designated by the U.S. Congress in 1984 the country's first national heritage corridor, are now used for recreational activities.)

      Cities that are situated along the river's course include Morris, Ottawa, La Salle, Peru, Peoria, Pekin, Havana, and Beardstown. In addition to the Kankakee and Des Plaines rivers, other tributaries include the Spoon (Spoon River), Sangamon (Sangamon River), Fox, Vermilion, Mackinaw, and La Moine rivers. State parks along the Illinois River include Starved Rock, Buffalo Rock, and Illini (all near Ottawa) and Pere Marquette (near the confluence with the Mississippi River).

      The Illinois River once flooded a large surrounding area each year and supported a vast array of wildlife. During the early 20th century, however, levees and pumping systems were built to contain the river, and about half of the 400,000-acre (160,000-hectare) floodplain, including an entire lake, was drained for farmland. The reversing of the Chicago River in 1900 caused pollution (now reduced by water-treatment facilities upstream); invasive species, such as the zebra mussel, later entered the Illinois. Dredging and narrowing made the river useful for shipping primarily such bulk commodities as grain, coal, and petroleum. Ongoing efforts to restore parts of the river were begun after it was determined that the Illinois was one of a very few large river ecosystems in the United States that could be rehabilitated. Early successes brought the return of native plants and increased numbers of waterfowl to restoration sites, though the Asian carp made its way from the Mississippi River to the Illinois and began to threaten the river's marine life.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

  
Share  

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Illinois River — ist der Name folgender Flüsse in den USA: Illinois River (Mississippi River), ein Nebenfluss des Mississippi River in Illinois Illinois River (Arkansas River), ein Nebenfluss des Arkansas River in Arkansas und Oklahoma Illinois River (Rogue… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Illinois River — Illinois (rivière) Illinois Caractéristiques Longueur 439 km Bassin 104 000 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Illinois River — Infobox River river name = Illinois River image size = 300 px caption = Map of the Illinois River watershed. origin = confluence of the Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers mouth = Mississippi River basin countries = United States length = 273 miles… …   Wikipedia

  • Fox River (Illinois River) — Fox River Einzugsgebiet des Fox River Daten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of crossings of the Illinois River — This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Illinois River from the Mississippi River upstream to the confluence of Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers.ee also*List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River *List of crossings of the Lower… …   Wikipedia

  • Illinois locations by per capita income — Illinois is the eleventh richest state in the United States of America, with a per capita income of $23,104 (2000). Illinois Places by Per Capita Income # Kenilworth, Illinois ndash; $101,086 # Glencoe, Illinois ndash; $84,134 # North Barrington …   Wikipedia

  • Illinois River (Mississippi River) — Illinois River Einzugsgebiet des Illinois Rivers Daten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Illinois — • One of the United States of America, bounded on the north by Wisconsin, on the west by the Mississippi, which separates it from Iowa and Missouri, on the south by the confluent waters of the Mississippi and the Ohio, which separate it from… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • River Forest, Illinois — River Forest is an affluent suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University. The Dominican Priory of the noted preparatory school Fenwick… …   Wikipedia

  • Illinois campaign — Part of the American Revolutionary War The Fall of Fort Sackville, Frederick C. Yohn, 1923 …   Wikipedia