What are the 3 branches of the Chicago River?
The 156-mile Chicago River includes three branches that spread through the northern suburbs, the North Shore Channel, North Branch, Main Stem, South Branch, Bubbly Creek and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Where is the North Branch of the Chicago River?
The North Branch Chicago River Watershed planning area covers 94 square miles (60,658 acres), with northern and southern boundaries roughly extending from Illinois Route 132 (Grand Avenue) in the City of Waukegan in Lake County south to Dempster Street in Morton Grove in Cook County.
How deep is the North Branch of the Chicago River?
At the golf course, the North Branch is 30 feet wide and 6 feet deep, Quail said. From there, the river heads into the city. The North Branch becomes the South Branch at Wolf Point, where it flows south to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal — and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico.
How deep is the Chicago River in the loop?
At its deepest point, the Chicago River is 21 feet deep. It runs 156 miles from start to finish, with three main branches — North, Main, and South — along the way. The river is 800 feet at its widest and ultimately helps connect the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River Basin, which leads to the Gulf of Mexico.
Why does the Chicago River run backwards?
Chicago River Mouth When raw sewage and other pollutants were dumped in the river, they flowed into Chicago’s primary source of drinking water. As the city grew, fear of disease spread, and officials decided to permanently reverse the river’s flow, sending its polluted water to the Mississippi River instead.
Are there fish in the Chicago River?
Happily, fish numbers have rebounded since those tumultuous times. Improvements in water quality and habitat mean that more fish are now thriving in the Chicago River system. Today, there are more than 70 species of fish in the river.
What is at the bottom of the Chicago River?
Now to get all literal, at the very bottom of the river is rock — Niagara limestone, to be exact. According to David M. Solzman’s book The Chicago River, the ancient bedrock of the river was formed a few hundred million years ago when what’s now Chicago was covered by a salty sea.
Is it safe to swim in Chicago River?
When there hasn’t been a recent storm, the Chicago River is actually much safer to swim in than it was just a few years ago. That’s because approximately 70 percent of the water in the river comes directly from the wastewater treatment plants, and that wastewater just got a lot cleaner.
What lives in Chicago River?
Alligators, otters, beavers and rusty crayfish have all made the river their home. Dip into a little research about what kind of wildlife lives in and around the Chicago River, and you’ll come up with a long list of what used to be here: egrets and eagles, lynx and panthers.
Is it safe to swim in the Chicago River?
Why does the Chicago River smell?
In the 1800s, the river was teeming with human waste, as well as animal products from the meat packing industry – causing foul odors to emanate throughout the city. To make things even more challenging, much of Chicago’s drinking water came from these infected waters.
Is Chicago River Sewage?
What was the environmental cost of reversing the direction of the Chicago River? The reversal of the Chicago River in large part succeeded, and has mostly protected Lake Michigan from Chicago’s sewage, “preventing thousands of people from dying from a rogue’s gallery of waterborne illnesses,” as Mogerman puts it.
Where does the West Fork of the Chicago River start and end?
The West Fork begins in a farm field located just north of North Park in north suburban Lincolnshire. This branch of the river flows south through Lincolnshire, Deerfield, downtown Northbrook, and Glenview before it combines with the rest of the Upper North Branch in Morton Grove.
Where is the West Fork of the Skokie River?
It flows into the Skokie River and continues through Harms Woods until it is met by the West Fork in the Chick Evans Golf Course in Morton Grove. The West Fork begins in a farm field located just north of North Park in north suburban Lincolnshire.
Where does the Chicago River flow through Chicago?
This branch of the river flows south through Lincolnshire, Deerfield, downtown Northbrook, and Glenview before it combines with the rest of the Upper North Branch in Morton Grove.
What is the North Branch Chicago River watershed?
The North Branch Chicago River Watershed planning area covers 94 square miles (60,658 acres), with northern and southern boundaries roughly extending from Illinois Route 132 (Grand Avenue) in the City of Waukegan in Lake County south to Dempster Street in Morton Grove in Cook County.