The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

and northeastern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

s in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

and furnished a significant

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

between the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

. Significantly altered from its original channel, it flows through a primarily rural farming region of reclaimed cropland, south of Lake Michigan.

Description

The Kankakee rises in northwestern Indiana, approximately southwest of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

. It flows in a straight channelized course, generally southwestward through rural northwestern Indiana, collecting the Yellow River from the south in Starke County, and passing the communities of South Center and English Lake. It forms the border between LaPorte, Porter, and

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

counties on the north and Starke,

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref ...

, and Newton counties on the south. The river curves westward and ceases to be channelized as it enters Kankakee County in northeastern Illinois. Approximately southeast of the city of Kankakee, it receives the Iroquois River from the south and turns sharply to the northwest for its lower . It joins the

Des Plaines River The Des Plaines River () is a river that flows southward for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois''American H ...

from the south to form the Illinois River, approximately southwest of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. The Kankakee River Basin drains in northwest

, in northeast Illinois, and about in southwest

Lower Michigan The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the Geography of Michigan, two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula of Mic ...

. The Kankakee River heads near South Bend, then flows westward into Illinois, where it joins with the Des Plaines River to form the Illinois. The area of Lake County which originally drained to Lake Michigan but now drains by means of artificial diversion to the Illinois River is not considered to be part of the Kankakee River Basin study region. Although the Kankakee River basin includes portions of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, the discussion below will focus on the Indiana portion of the basin.

Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain

A 1908 Fig 16 Lobes of Retreating Ice (Mich)

The Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain, a large and poorly drained plain, comprises approximately the southern quarter of both Lake and Porter counties. It is the most recent of the three landscape regions to face the pressures of impending urbanization. Large portions of the area were once marshland associated with the meandering Kankakee River, which, for eight or nine months of the year, was flanked on both sides by wetlands. The marsh area was wide and contained water deep. The low marshland was broken by infrequent islands of sand blown into dunes. The sand islands were the sites of Indian encampments and later of pioneer homes. The Kankakee marsh was an effective barrier to early southerly exploration of both counties, but the area has been progressively drained by ditches constructed during the past 60 years.

Landscape

The Kankakee River Basin is a product of the

Wisconsin Glacial Episode The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cor ...

. It is a remnant of the glacial lakes that comprised the Lake Michigan lobe of the ice sheet. Landscape elements include 1) the nearly level plains of a ground moraine, 2) eolian (wind driven deposits) plains, 3) outwash deposits, 4) the central river basin and 5) end moraines forming the north, middle and southern borders. Local relief varies from along the Iroquois Moraine, up to on the Valparaiso Moraine. Deposits range from in the lower basin (western). The deepest deposits of are in the upper basin (eastern). Along the Valparaiso Moraine, deposits can reach thick.

Outwash An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and ...

deposits occur primarily along the northern border of the basin. The southern half of the Kankakee Basin, south of the main river channel, is characterized by the fine-grained sediments that are wind driven, forming a series of broad eolian sand dunes and ridges. These are of moderate height. lacustrine silts and clays are mixed with the various waterborne and wind driven deposits throughout the basin.

Bedrock

The bedrock underlying the Kankakee Basin is primarily of Silurian age. There are also strata from the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, wh ...

, and Mississippian periods. The Silurian rocks are primarily

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

. A major subterranean feature is the Kankakee Arch; it is an extension of the Cincinnati Arch. North of the arch, the strata dip towards Lake Michigan and the

Michigan Basin The Michigan Basin is a geologic basin centered on the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The feature is represented by a nearly circular pattern of geologic sedimentary strata in the area with a nearly uniform structural dip towa ...

. To the south, the strata dips southwest toward the Illinois Basin. Within the Kankakee Basin (Lake,

, and Pulaski counties), the rock strata are nearly flat, being at the top of the arch.

Current conditions

The Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service contains current data for river depths. Contrary to what may be shown in online mapping sites or GPS software, the bridge over the Kankakee River on State Line Road near the public ramp at the Indiana–Illinois state line is closed and partially dismantled. Some fishing maps and websites about the river may include road directions to the public ramp at the state line, with outdated information. The public ramp is located on the north side of the river, and with the bridge out, it is not accessible from the south side, from Illinois Route 114/

Indiana State Road 10 State Road 10 (SR 10) is an east–west road in northwest Indiana. Its western terminus is at the Illinois state line west of Lake Village. Its eastern terminus is at State Road 19 (SR 19) south of Etna Green. Route description ...

. As of September 7, 2008, the old iron bridge at the Indiana–Illinois state line had been removed from its concrete supports and was set on the ground, clearing the water by only approximately , making it possible to pass beneath only in small boats, canoes, etc.

History

Kankakee Torrent

The Kankakee River was originally formed around 16,000 years ago by an event known as the Kankakee Torrent. A glacial lake resulting from meltwater from the Wisconsin glaciation breached the moraines (located in what is today northern Indiana) holding it in. The resultant flood created the bed of the Kankakee River and had even greater impact in what is today the state of Illinois.

Grand Kankakee Marsh

Up through the early 19th century, the river furnished an important water transportation route through the Illinois Country for both Native Americans and early European settlers, notably the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

fur trappers. The headwaters of the river near present-day South Bend allowed a portage to the St. Joseph River, which drains into Lake Michigan, as well as furnishing a subsequent portage to the

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

watershed. The Kankakee, thus, was part of an inland

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

route connecting the Great Lakes to the Illinois River and subsequently to the Mississippi River. Kankakee River at Momence

Until the end of the 19th century, the river was nearly long, flowing in a highly

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ban ...

ing course through a vast complex of wetlands surrounding the river, that was known as the

Grand Kankakee Marsh Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and com ...

. Encompassing , it was one of the largest marsh wetlands in the United States.

LaPorte and Starke county line

Today, the Kankakee essentially forms the county line between LaPorte and Starke counties. However, when the two counties were originally proposed, Starke County's borders were such that the river divided the county and effectively isolated the north-west portion. In order to reach the rest of the county, it was necessary for residents in this area to travel some distance east to Lemon's bridge, before making the journey south. These residents petitioned the state to be annexed by LaPorte County, and this was done on January 28, 1842. The area of land relinquished by Starke County became the townships of Cass, Dewey, Hanna, and Prairie in LaPorte County.

Draining the riverine wetland

Beginning in the mid-19th century, much of the basin of wetlands was drained to create cultivated cropland. Two large ditches were constructed in 1858, as part of the Swamp Act of 1852, the first attempt to drain the marsh. A lobby grew among the large landholders in Lake County who advocated the complete drainage of the marsh, but due to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

and the subsequent economic downturn, little action occurred until the 1880s. In 1884, meetings were held by land owners in South Bend to discuss the drainage of the marsh. Two of the largest landholders agreed to build a network of drainage ditches in their lands to begin draining the eastern edge of the marsh. State funding was granted to the project during the term of Indiana Governor Claude Matthews and the project was expanded to include the entire marsh. At the time, it was heralded as a great advance for the state which was also in the process of draining the Great Black Swamp. By 1910, most of the marshlands were drained and work on rerouting the Kankakee River began. In 1917, the river was dredged to make it significantly deeper; by 1922, the process was mostly completed and the river was several miles shorter than its original course. The upper river was also highly channelized with levees to allow easier transport of cut timber from the wetlands to saw mills downstream in Illinois. The channelization aided in the desiccation of the surrounding wetlands and reduced the river to less than half of its original length. Of the original marsh, only remain, comprising approximately one percent of the original area. The channelization of the river has rendered it especially prone to

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing. Starting in the 1980s, federal and state efforts have attempted to restore part of the original

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the river through strategic widening of the levees.

Today

The river remains a popular destination for recreational canoeing and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

for warm-water species.

Kankakee River State Park Kankakee River State Park is an Illinois state park on primarily in Kankakee and Will Counties, Illinois, United States. Originally, of land was donated by Ethel Sturges Dummer for the creation of the state park in 1938. Another was donat ...

is located along the river, northwest of Kankakee, Illinois. The Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area is located in Indiana.

Route

St. Joseph County (South Bend)

The headwaters of the Kankakee River is southwest of downtown

, within the city limits. An area of wetlands and springs to the northwest of the South Bend Ethanol Plant is the start of the Kankakee River. An old Indian portage, about long, stretched from this area towards the northeast to what are today Highland and Riverview cemeteries, along what were once the banks of the St. Joseph River, but now forms a bank of Pinhook Park Lagoon. The St. Joseph River drains into Lake Michigan. The famous Council Oak Tree stood along this portage about from the St. Joseph River. Farms fields cover what was once a marshland.Report on the Water and Related Land Resources, Kankakee River Basin, Indiana, Comprehensive Basin Study; Department of Natural Resources; Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Interior; United States; November 1976 The river has been "ditched" and is called Dixon West Place Ditch. Below Crumstown, Geyer Ditch joins it from the north, flowing out of Berrien County in southern

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

LaPorte and Starke counties

The Kankakee River passes through the southeast corner of Starke County. Here it takes on a more natural appearance with wetlands spreading out along both sides of the river. The river channels form the northern border between Starke County and LaPorte County to its north. These are some of the more extensive wetlands along the upper river. The Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area is a state managed wildlife area, heavily managed to control water levels throughout the year. Here, the Yellow River (the second largest branch of the Kankakee) joins the main river.

Porter County

The Kankakee River also forms the southern boundary of Porter County, delimiting an area of farm land and wetland forest. Throughout this area, the Kankakee is also called the Marble Power Ditch. This is the heart of the Grand Kankakee Marsh, which was drained in the early 20th century. The earliest recorded crossing of the Kankakee was at Baum's Bridge, on South Baum's Bridge Road (Porter County) to CR 200 W ( Jasper County). The other historic crossing between Porter County and Jasper County is Dunn's Bridge, further east; CR 500 E (Porter County) to CR 400 E (Jasper County). File:Dunns Bridge.jpg, Dunns Bridge over the Kankakee (County Rd 500 E) File:Kankakee River SR49 Winter.jpg, Kankakee River in winter (SR 49) Kankakee River Aukiki 25

Jasper County

Jasper County is south of the Kankakee River and dotted with sand hills and wetlands. Much of the area has been drained to create farmland, but numerous conservation areas have been established along the river's borders, such as the ''Aukiki Wetland Conservation Area'' and the surrounding ''NIPSCO Savanna''.

Lake and Newton counties

The Kankakee River forms the border between Lake County to the north and Newton County on the south. Along this section of the river, the channel has been straightened, passing between Shelby on the north and

Thayer Thayer may refer to: Places ;United States * Thayer, Illinois * Thayer, Indiana * Thayer, Iowa * Thayer, Kansas * Thayer, Michigan * Thayer, Missouri * Thayer, Nebraska * Thayer, West Virginia * Thayer County, Nebraska * Thayer Street, Provi ...

on the south. The LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area dominates both sides of the river, as it makes its exit from Indiana and enters Illinois.

Kankakee County

Entering Illinois, the river returns to its natural channel, winding its way to Momence, Illinois. This is the last section of the Grand Kankakee Marsh that has never been ditched. It is at Momence that the river crosses a limestone shelf, referred to as the Momence Dam. This natural feature's resistance to erosion created a blockage in the flow of the Kankakee River, backing up water and thereby creating the Grand Marsh that once covered . The dam's removal is part of the story of the draining the marsh. Beyond Momence, the river takes on a more traditional image, flowing across the rolling hills of Kankakee County. File:Kankakee River Momence.JPG, Kankakee River in flood, Momence, Illinois (January 1, 2009 File:Kankakee_River_SP_(old_Bridge_Piers).JPG, Kankakee River State Park, Old Bridge Piers (January 1, 2009)

Will County

The river enters Will County, Illinois, for only a short distance before joining the

. Here, in the Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area, the two rivers form the Illinois River for the journey to the

Political entities

Indiana

Because of the river's wide valley and historic great marsh, there are few towns on the river throughout the entire length of Indiana. Most towns are located either north or south, on high ground, just outside the marshes. Today, the marshes have been drained and it is not apparent why the towns are so far from the river. * St. Joseph County ** Greene Township *** South Bend ** Liberty Township *** North Liberty ** Lincoln Township *** Walkerton ** Olive Township * LaPorte County ** Kankakee Township ** Pleasant Township ** Lincoln Township ** Washington Township *** Kingsbury ** Johnson Township ** Union Township *** Kingsford Heights ** Noble Township ** Hanna Township *** Hanna ** Clinton Township ** Prairie Township ** Cass Township *** Wanatah ** Dewey Township ***

LaCrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

* Starke County ** Davis Township ***

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

** Jackson Township ** Railroad Township. The Yellow River joins the Kankakee River here. *** English Lake *** Lomax * Porter County ** Washington Township ** Morgan Township ** Pleasant Township *** Kouts ** Union Township ** Boone Township ***

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

* Jasper County While all of Jasper County is in the Kankakee River basin, most of the county is on the Iroquois River, rather than directly on the Kankakee's main stem. ** Kankakee Township ** Wheatfield Township *** Dunns Bridge *** Wheatfield ** Keener Township ***Baums Bridge *** Demote * Lake County ** Winfield Township ***

Winfield Winfield may refer to: Places Canada * Winfield, Alberta * Winfield, British Columbia United States * Winfield, Alabama * Winfield, Arkansas * Winfield, Georgia * Winfield, Illinois * Winfield, Indiana * Winfield, Iowa * Winfield, Kansas * W ...

** Eagle Creek Township ** Center Township ** Cedar Creek Township ** St. John Township *** St. John ** Hanover Township *** Cedar Lake ** West Creek Township ***

Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People *Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of the D ...

*** Shelby * Newton County Like Jasper County, Newton County is in the Kankakee River basin, but most of the county is on the Iroquois River, and not on the Kankakee's main stem. ** Lincoln Township *** Roselawn ***Thayer ** Colfax Township ** Lake Township ***Sumava Resort *** Lake Village ** McClellan Township ** Beaver Township

Illinois

* Kankakee County All of Kankakee County is in the Kankakee River basin. About half is on the Iroquois River Branch. ** Yellowhead Township ** Momence Township *** Momence ** Pembroke Township ** Sumner Township ** Ganeer Township ** Aroma Township This is where the Iroquois River joins the Kankakee River. ** Rockville Township ** Bourbonnais Township ** Kankakee Township *** City of Kankakee ** Manteno Township ** Limestone Township ***

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

** Salina Township * Will County * Grundy County This is where the Kankakee River joins the Des Plaines River to form the Illinois

Parks and preserves

Indiana

Kankakee River (main stem) * Rum Village Woods, South Bend, St. Joseph County (bird watching and small mammals) * Potato Creek State Park, North Liberty, St. Joseph County * Fish Lake Wildlife Conservation Area, Fish Lake, LaPorte County *

Kingsbury Fish and Wildlife Area Kingsbury Fish and Wildlife Area is a protected area that covers of grasslands, wetlands, and crop fields dedicated to providing hunting and fishing opportunities. It is located south on County Road 650W, near Kingsbury, Indiana. History Kings ...

, Kingsbury, LaPorte County * Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area, English Lake, Starke County * Koontz Lake Nature Preserve, Koontz Lake, Starke County (black oak savanna & lowland marsh) *

Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area is a hunting & fishing wildlife area administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resource's Division of Fish & Wildlife. The Division of Fish & Wildlife is dedicated to providing a quality hunting & fishi ...

, Radioville, Pulaski County * Stoutsburg Savanna Nature Preserve, Wheatfield, Jasper County (rolling sand ridges) * LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area * Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve, Conrad, Newton County (black and white oak savanna) * Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area, Morocco, Newton County Yellow River Branch * Menominees Wildlife Conservation Area, Plymouth, Marshall County Iroquois River Branch * Newton County Fair Grounds, Kentland, Newton County

Illinois

* Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area * Forest Preserves of the Kankakee River Valley ** Aroma Land and Water Preserve,

St. Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

** Gar Creek Trail and Prairie Restoration, Kankakee ** Limestone Reforestation Site, Kankakee ** Shannon Bayou Environmental Education Center, Aroma Park ** Strasma Grove, Kankakee ** Waldron Arboretum, Aroma Park ** Zeedyk Meadows, St. Anne *Island Park, Momence *

Named for the Kankakee

* USS Kankakee (AO-39), a Kennebec-class fleet oiler of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

built in 1942. * U.S. Kankakee, a Coast Guard cutter built in 1919 used on the

. *

Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 24,052. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. It serves as a ...

References

External links

Northern Illinois Anglers Association

Annual Kankakee & Iroquois River Clean Up

Grand Kankakee Marsh

Kankakee Valley Historical Society
*
The Kankakee River Yesterday and Today
{{authority control Rivers of Jasper County, Indiana Rivers of Kankakee County, Illinois Rivers of Lake County, Indiana Rivers of LaPorte County, Indiana Rivers of Newton County, Indiana Rivers of Porter County, Indiana Rivers of St. Joseph County, Indiana Rivers of Starke County, Indiana Rivers of Will County, Illinois Mississippi River watershed Portages in the United States Rivers of Illinois Rivers of Indiana Tributaries of the Illinois River

Description

Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain

Landscape

Bedrock

Current conditions

History

Kankakee Torrent

Grand Kankakee Marsh

LaPorte and Starke county line

Draining the riverine wetland

Today

Route

St. Joseph County (South Bend)

LaPorte and Starke counties

Porter County

Jasper County

Lake and Newton counties

Kankakee County

Will County

Political entities

Indiana

Illinois

Parks and preserves

Indiana

Illinois

Named for the Kankakee

See also

References

External links