chicago river is the name of the river in chicago.
what's the name of the river in chicago?
chicago river
the chicago portage was formed as the wisconsin glaciation retreated northward about 10,000 years ago, leaving behind lake chicago consisting of its meltwater. lake chicago found its only outlet at its southwestern edge, where it overflowed the valparaiso moraine which encircles the southern half of the lake chicago/lake michigan basin, creating the chicago outlet river. this was a substantial river, carving the channel later used by the main and south branches of the chicago river, and the des plaines river. eventually the glaciers melted far enough northward that lake chicago was connected to lake huron, a combination sometimes called lake michigan-huron, resulting in a significant drop in the water level. until perhaps 3,000 years ago, the combined lakes had two outlets, one at chicago, and the other via the st. clair river at port huron, michigan. eventually the st. clair river outlet eroded slightly more quickly, resulting in stream capture of the chicago outlet river as the water level of lake michigan-huron gradually declined. however, until man-made canals and levees were built within the past 170 years, during periods of heavy rain or downstream ice dams, the des plaines river could still flood eastward through a marshy area of the bed of the former chicago outlet river known as mud lake, across the continental divide into the chicago river and then into lake michigan.
chicago portage
the illinois general assembly chartered the chicago and illinois river railroad on february 28, 1867 to build a railroad from chicago through lisbon and ottawa (the latter on the illinois river) to the mississippi river opposite keokuk, iowa, with a branch in the vicinity of streator. an amendment passed march 24, 1869 removed the requirement to serve lisbon and ottawa. construction began in 1873 on a route south of the illinois river between chicago and streator, but in 1875 it ran out of money and leased the unfinished line to the chicago and alton railroad. the grade southwest of the mazon river crossing at gorman was sold to the chicago, pekin and southwestern railroad that year, and the alton opened the railroad between joliet and the mazon river on july 1. the alton bought the property at foreclosure sale on september 4, 1879, and in 1881 built a connecting line from coal city south to its main line at mazonia (near braceville), giving it two tracks between chicago and odell. beyond the mazon river, the chicago, pekin and southwestern completed the line to pekin on may 21, 1876, and obtained trackage rights over the chicago and illinois river to joliet. successor chicago and st. louis railway, however, opened a parallel line to chicago on december 21, 1885, and the old chicago and illinois river line between coal city and the mazon river was subsequently abandoned. in 1905 the alton and atchison, topeka and santa fe railway (santa fe) began operating these two parallel tracks as a joint double-track line between joliet and pequot, just northeast of coal city.
chicago and illinois river railroad