The Apple River is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
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 f ...
, about long,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed May 13, 2011 in southwestern
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and northwestern
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It rises in
Lafayette County, Wisconsin
Lafayette County, sometimes spelled La Fayette County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It was part of the Wisconsin Territory at the time of its founding. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,611. Its county seat is ...
, and flows for most of its length in Illinois, through
Jo Daviess and
Carroll Counties. Along its course it passes through
Apple River Canyon State Park
Apple River Canyon State Park is an Illinois state park on in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The park was begun with land purchased by the state in 1932, as a result of a prolonged campaign led by botanist Herman Silas Pepoon; wi ...
and the town of
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. It flows into the Mississippi River about 7 mi (11 km) northwest of
Savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
.
In Jo Daviess County, it collects two short tributaries known as the West Fork Apple River and South Fork Apple River.
Toponymy
Apple River was so named on account of the
crabapple
''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries.
The genus is native plant, native to the temper ...
trees along its course.
A
folk etymology
Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
maintains the river derives its name from a German named Appel who fell near the river in the
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...
.
Geology
The river is part of the
Driftless Area
The Driftless Area, a topographical and cultural region in the American Midwest, comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois.
Never covered by ice during the last ...
of Illinois, a region that was bypassed by the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
; "the glacial sweep which ironed out hills and filled valleys in other parts of the state left this area unscratched. During the Ice Age, the Apple River had its original course reversed. It once flowed to the Pecatonica River. It now flows southwest to the Mississippi River.
Illinois DNR on Driftless Area
, Retrieved July 12, 2007 The result is a deep canyon, part of which is preserved in Apple River Canyon State Park
Apple River Canyon State Park is an Illinois state park on in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The park was begun with land purchased by the state in 1932, as a result of a prolonged campaign led by botanist Herman Silas Pepoon; wi ...
.
See also
* List of tributaries of the Mississippi River
*List of Illinois rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Illinois:
By drainage basin
Gulf of Mexico
*Mississippi River
**Ohio River
***Lusk Creek
*** Saline River
***Wabash River
****Little Wabash River
*****Skillet Fork
***** Elm River
***** Fox River
**** ...
*List of Wisconsin rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Wisconsin.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.
Great Lakes Drainage
Lake Michigan
*Menominee River
* ...
* Millville Town Site
Notes
References
Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
*DeLorme
DeLorme is the producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company’s main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and receive text messages ...
(2003). ''Illinois Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. .
*DeLorme
DeLorme is the producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company’s main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and receive text messages ...
(1992). ''Wisconsin Atlas & Gazetteer''. Freeport, Maine: DeLorme. .
*
*
*
Prairie Rivers Network
{{authority control
Rivers of Illinois
Rivers of Wisconsin
Tributaries of the Mississippi River
Rivers of Carroll County, Illinois
Rivers of Jo Daviess County, Illinois
Rivers of Lafayette County, Wisconsin
Driftless Area