Macoupin Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

, which it joins near the village of

Hardin, Illinois Hardin is a village and county seat of Calhoun County, Illinois, Calhoun County, Illinois, United States. The population was 801 at the 2020 census, down from 967 at the 2010 census. Geography Hardin is located at (39.158271, −90.618239). Ac ...

. The word ''macoupin'' refers to the yellow pond lily (''

Nuphar advena ''Nuphar advena'' (spatterdock or cow lily or yellow pond-lily) is a species of ''Nuphar'' native throughout the eastern United States and in some parts of Canada, such as Nova Scotia, as well as Mexico and Cuba. It is locally naturalized in Brit ...

''), a native plant of the regional

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s, and a favorite food source of local Indians. It has a large rootstock (a

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

) that was baked in a fire pit. The spelling is derived from

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

attempts at documenting the pronunciation of the Miami-Illinois , with ''macoupin'' being the modern form of the earlier French . Macoupin Creek has been channelized near its junction with the Illinois River. A straight channel cuts through old oxbows on a direct path to the river. The old channel meanders through the Illinois bottoms for about before joining the river, near the village of Hardin. The two channels thus form an island, called Macoupin Island, across the Illinois River from Hardin. The old channel of Macoupin Creek forms the northwestern boundary between

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Greene, Iowa, a city * Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene * Greene (town), New York **Greene (village), New York, in the to ...

and

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

Counties. The actual boundary is ambiguous because of the shifting creek. The creek is about in length. The lower of the creek runs in a narrow valley, usually less than a mile wide, between steep bluffs that rise up to high. The bottom of the valley is mainly flat, and has little or no gradient in the downstream direction. The modern channel runs in a straight line, with little evidence of old oxbows. This portion of Macoupin Creek therefore appears to be a drainage ditch that was dug through a swamp or a marsh, that had no well-defined natural channel. This matches with old accounts that this area was a wetland, with natural lakes, and vast amounts of growing macoupin.

Cities, towns and counties

The following cities, towns and villages are drained by Macoupin Creek: *

Carlinville Carlinville is a city in and the county seat of Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 5,710. It is the home of Blackburn College (Illinois), Blackburn College, a small col ...

* Farmersville * Girard * Greenfield *

Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...

* Medora *

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

* Royal Lakes * Shipman Parts of the following counties are in the Macoupin Creek watershed: * Greene County *

Jersey County Jersey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 21,512. The county seat and largest community is Jerseyville, with a population of 8,337 in 2010. The county's smallest incorporated c ...

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

* Macoupin County

Parks and access points

* Beaver Dam State Park

Lakes and impoundments

*Bunn Lake *Carlinville Lake *New Gillespie Lake *Otter Lake *Sunset Lake

References

External links

Beaver Dam State Park HistoryPrairie Rivers NetworkTopoQuest map of Mouth of Macoupin CreekUSGS Stream Gage Macoupin Creek
{{authority control Rivers of Greene County, Illinois Rivers of Jersey County, Illinois Rivers of Macoupin County, Illinois Rivers of Illinois Tributaries of the Illinois River

Cities, towns and counties

Parks and access points

Lakes and impoundments

See also

References

External links