The Big Bureau Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 26, 2011 tributary of the Illinois River in north central

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 ...

. It rises approximately north of Mendota and flows southwest into Bureau County, turning south at

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

and then flowing east into the Illinois River floodplain. Among the creek's more notable features is the Red Covered Bridge, built in 1863, which passes over Big Bureau Creek and was once part of the Peoria Galena Trail. The bridge, located just north of Interstate 80, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Ecology

Currently, there is an effort underway to maintain this watershed as well to evaluate its current condition with the Big Bureau Creek Watershed Inventory and Evaluation (I&E) begun in 2003 (See the Forward and Acknowledgment section for the year 2003).ftp://199.133.90.201/pub/outgoing/Downloads/IL_Big_Bureau_Creek/Big_Bureau_Creek_Watershed_Inventory.pdf

Nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

levels from surrounding farmland, sedimentation, and low water levels are the main problems to be assessed.

History

The stream is named for Michel or Pierre Bureau. Their original surname was probably Belleau, but local aboriginals may have had difficulty pronouncing the "l" sound. One or both of the brothers ran a trading post near where Big Bureau Creek empties into the Illinois River from 1776 until 1780 or 1790.Pierre de Beuro, an Indian trader
''Pioneers of Illinois'' by Nehemiah Matson, 1882, p. 229Jean Baptiste Point de Sable : the founder of modern Chicago
by John F. Swenson, 1999- . Retrieved 11 November 2010. The stream was called the Chassagauch", "Chassagoach", or "Chachagouche" River on early maps of the region.''Carte de la Louisiane ou des voyages du Sr. De La Salle''
by Jean Baptiste Louis Franquelin, 1684. Retrieved 14 September 2010. ''Carte de l'Amerique Septentrionnale''
by Jean Baptiste Louis Franquelin, 1688. Retrieved 14 September 2010.''Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi''
by Guillaume de l'Isle, 1718. Retrieved 14 September 2010. These are European renderings of the

Miami-Illinois language Miami-Illinois (endonym: , ) also known as Irenwa, or Irenwe is an indigenous Algonquian language spoken in the United States, primarily in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, western Ohio and adjacent areas along the Mississippi River by the Miami ...

word , which once meant 'copperhead' (

agkistrodon contortrix The eastern copperhead (''Agkistrodon contortrix''), also known as the copperhead, is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper, endemic to eastern North America; it is a member of the subfamily Crotalinae in the family Viperidae. The eastern co ...

) but now means '

garter snake Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus ''Thamnophis'' can be found from the ...

'.''Native American place names of Indiana''
by Michael McCafferty, University of Illinois Press, 2008, p. 24. Retrieved 4 August 2010."Shall Indian languages be preserved?"
by Jacob Piatt Dunn, ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society,'' Vol. 10, No. 1 (Apr. 1917), p. 91. Retrieved 4 August 2010. was also the name of a chief and diplomat of the

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

at the

Grand Village of the Illinois The Grand Village of the Illinois, also called Old Kaskaskia Village, is a site significant for being the best documented historic Native American village in the Illinois River valley. It was a large agricultural and trading village of Native A ...

, up river from

Starved Rock Starved Rock State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its . Located just southeast of the village of Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of the ...

, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.Chachagouesse
''Dictionary of Canadian biography online''. Retrieved 4 August 2010.

Recreation

Most land surrounding the banks of the Big Bureau Creek is privately owned. Canoeing on the creek is possible in some areas. There have been reports of class II and III rapids in high water. Brush buildup, beaver dams, and submerged rocks are always a point of concern.

References

External links

USGS Information about Big Bureau Creek
* tp://199.133.90.201/pub/outgoing/Downloads/IL_Big_Bureau_Creek/Big_Bureau_Creek_Watershed_Inventory.pdf {{authority control Rivers of Bureau County, Illinois Tributaries of the Illinois River Rivers of Illinois