The Salt Fork is a tributary of the
Vermilion River located in the
Central Corn Belt Plains of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
.
The Salt Fork owes its name to saline springs that provided natural salt licks for animals, and which were used for production of salt by
Native Americans and early settlers. The springs were located about eight miles west of
Danville, to the south of
Muncie, Illinois. The upper reaches of the Salt Fork do not contain saline springs.
In its natural state, the Salt Fork drained a vast upland marsh between Urbana and Rantoul. The Salt Fork has been extended into these marshes by drainage ditches. Including the ditches, the Salt Fork is about long.
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed May 19, 2011
Parks and access points
Cities and towns
The following cities, towns and villages are in the Salt Fork watershed:
*Champaign
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metr ...
*Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
* Rantoul
* Sidney
*St. Joseph
According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus.
Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orth ...
* Thomasboro
* Urbana
* Oakwood
Counties
The following counties are in the Salt Fork watershed:
*Champaign County, Illinois
Champaign County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, its population was 205,865, making it the 10th-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Urbana, Ill ...
*Vermilion County, Illinois
Vermilion County is a county in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois, between the Indiana border and Champaign County. It was established in 1826 and was the 45th of Illinois' 102 counties. According to the 2020 United States censu ...
References
External links
Prairie Rivers NetworkUSGS Streamgage, Salt Fork near St. Joseph
Rivers of Illinois
Tributaries of the Wabash River
Rivers of Champaign County, Illinois
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