Watersheds of Illinois is a list of basins or
catchment areas into which the State of
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 Rockf ...
can be divided based on the place to which water flows.
At the simplest level, in pre-settlement times, Illinois had two watersheds: the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan, with almost the entire State draining to the Mississippi, except for a small area within a few miles of the Lake. This has been complicated by modifications around Lake Michigan, making the Lake itself to some extent a part of the Mississippi watershed.
Although it would now be correct to describe Illinois as part of the Mississippi watershed, such classification would not be particularly useful for locating bodies of water within the State. The following lists are based on the method of subdividing the State that is followed by the Illinois
State Water Survey. Any body of water in Illinois can be located within this system.
The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers contain many small, direct tributaries, such as Marys River, which are not considered separate "watersheds" under this system. These small, direct tributaries to the main rivers are considered to be part of the "Mississippi watershed" or "Ohio watershed". A list of the small, direct tributaries that have articles in Wikipedia is also shown.
This list can be used in conjunction with the alphabetical
List of rivers of Illinois. Each of the articles about rivers in Illinois should locate that river within the list of watersheds.
Mississippi River watershed
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
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Ohio River
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Cache River
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Saline River
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Wabash River
The Wabash River (French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows from ...
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Little Wabash River
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Embarras River
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Vermilion River (Wabash River tributary)
The Vermilion River is a tributary of the Wabash River in the states of Illinois and Indiana, United States.
There are two "Vermilion Rivers" in Illinois. The Wabash tributary flows south, while the other Vermilion River flows north to the Illi ...
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Big Muddy River
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Kaskaskia River
The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 in central and southern Illinois in the Un ...
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Illinois River
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Macoupin Creek
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La Moine River
La Moine River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Illinois River in western Illinois in the United States. Its watershed covers approxima ...
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Sangamon River
The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Stat ...
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Spoon River
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Mackinaw River
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Kickapoo Creek
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Vermilion River (Illinois River tributary)
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Fox River (Illinois River tributary)
The Fox River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Illinois River, flowing from southeastern Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois in the United S ...
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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 Her ...
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Kankakee River
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Iroquois River
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Rock River (Mississippi River)
The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois. The ...
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Green River (Illinois)
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Kishwaukee River
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Pecatonica River
The Pecatonica River is a tributary of the Rock River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois in the United States ...
The minor direct tributaries of the Mississippi include the following, which are parts of the "Mississippi watershed":
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Marys River
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Wood River
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Edwards River
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Henderson Creek
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Hennepin Canal
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Plum River
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Apple River
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Galena River
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Sinsinawa River
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Little Menominee River
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Menominee River
The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Dece ...
Lake Michigan watershed
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Lake Michigan
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Calumet River
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Chicago River*
Note: the Chicago River flowed into Lake Michigan until its reversal in 1900. It now is a minor outlet of the
Great Lakes Basin
The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose dir ...
and its flow is regulated by the U.S.-Canadian
Great Lakes Commission.
See also
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List of rivers of Illinois
References
External links
Major Watersheds of Illinois, Illinois State Water Survey, PDF formatPrairie Rivers Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watersheds Of Illinois
Geography of Illinois
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 Rockf ...
fr:Liste des fleuves de l'Illinois
nl:Lijst van rivieren in Illinois