The Fox River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 13, 2011

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

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

, flowing from southeastern

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 ...

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Riv ...

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 ...

. The Wisconsin section was known as the Pishtaka River in the 19th century. There is another Fox River in

that flows through

Lake Winnebago Lake Winnebago ( mez, Wenepekōw Nepēhsæh, oj, Wiinibiigoo-zaaga'igan, one, kanyataláheleˀ) is a shallow freshwater lake in the north central United States, located in east central Wisconsin. At 137,700 acres it is the largest lake entir ...

into Green Bay. There are also two other "Fox Rivers" in

southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

: the

Fox River (Little Wabash tributary) The Fox River is a tributary of the Little Wabash River in southern Illinois. It rises in Jasper County to the southeast of Newton and flows south past Olney, then joins the Little Wabash at the northeast corner of Edwards County, near Mt. E ...

and a smaller "Fox River" that joins the

Wabash River The Wabash River ( French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows fro ...

near

New Harmony, Indiana New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana. It lies north of Mount Vernon, the county seat, and is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. The town's population was 789 at the 2010 census. ...

. The Fox River watershed encompasses 1720 square miles in Illinois and 938 square miles in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin

The Fox River rises in the Halbach Swamp, southeast of the community of

Colgate, Wisconsin Colgate is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States, straddling the county line with Waukesha County. Colgate is located partially in the village of Richfield, and the town of Lisbon. Its ZIP Code is 53017. T ...

and flows past Brookfield, Waukesha, Big Bend,

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, Wheatland,

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and

Wilmot Wilmot may refer to: Places Australia *Division of Wilmot, an abolished Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania * Wilmot, Tasmania, a locality in the North-West Region Canada *Wilmot, Nova Scotia, an unincorporated rural community and former t ...

, for a total of in Wisconsin. A major dam in

forms a navigable waterway which is one of the busiest in southeastern Wisconsin. The river is generally navigable from the Iron Bridge (now a concrete bridge) in

Tichigan, Wisconsin Tichigan (formerly known as Waterford North) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Racine County, Wisconsin, Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,277 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography Tichigan is lo ...

(just south of Big Bend) down to the dam. The river connects several small lakes in this section, and one large lake, Tichigan Lake and one smaller lake, Buena Lake. The entire area including connected lakes and the Fox are often referred to as Tichigan Lake. At the southern end of this section, Foxwood Isle separates the main dam to its west and a spillway to the east. A small dam is present just a few miles south in downtown

. The river then flows unobstructed through

, where it joins the White River, and on to

. This is a popular and picturesque day-canoe trip never straying far from the road, but often just out of sight of it. Flooding is common on this section of the river, especially near Wheatland to the border. The Fox River watershed encompasses 938 square miles in Wisconsin.https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2401/Fox-River-Watershed Stormwater Management Commission, Lake county, Illinois Retrieved 5/24/21

Illinois

The river enters Illinois where it widens into a large area of interconnected lakes known as the

Chain O'Lakes The Chain O'Lakes, or simply "The Chain", is a waterway system in northeast Illinois composed of 15 lakes connected by the Fox River and man-made channels. Encompassing more than of water, of shoreline and of river, the Chain is the busiest ...

. Fox Lake is the largest village in this area. From the chain, the river flows generally southward for , until it joins the

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. Illinois towns and communities that are on the Fox River include (from north to south): Fox Lake, Johnsburg, McHenry, Holiday Hills, Island Lake, Burtons Bridge, Port Barrington,

Cary Cary may refer to: Places ;United States * Cary, Illinois, part of the Chicago metropolitan area * Cary, Indiana, part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area * Cary, Miami County, Indiana * Cary, Maine * Cary, Mississippi * Cary, North Carolina ...

, Fox River Grove,

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

, Carpentersville,

West Dundee West Dundee is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,686 as of the 2020 US Census. It is considered a far northwest Chicago suburb. West Dundee lies across the Fox River from East Dundee and Carpentersville. ...

, East Dundee, Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles,

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

, North Aurora,

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

, Montgomery, Oswego, Yorkville, Plano, Millington, Sheridan and

. Collectively, the area surrounding the Fox River is known as the Fox Valley. Around 1 million people live in this area. Native American tribes that lived near the Fox River included the

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

, Sac, and

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

tribes. The Fox River has 15 dams, including McHenry Dam, which raises the river slightly to maintain depth in the

in northern Illinois, the

Montgomery Dam The Montgomery Dam is a gravity dam on the Fox River in Montgomery, Illinois. The dam was built for flood control and navigation in 1969 as a part of the Stratton project dam system which was designed to keep the river navagable from the Wisconsi ...

and the Dayton Dam, a hydroelectric dam near Ottawa. In the winter, bald eagles can be found nesting along the banks. Early in the history of Illinois, the Fox River provided water for the

Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Po ...

via a feeder canal, allowing the canal to pass over the Fox River on an aqueduct. The Fox River watershed encompasses 1720 square miles in Illinois.

References

External links

* Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources *
Watershed - Lower Fox River - Illinois (FX02)
*
Watershed - Middle Fox River - Illinois (FX04)
*
Watershed - Upper Fox River - Illinois (FX07)

Friends of the Fox River

Fox River Ecosystem Partnership (IL)

Fox River CAUSE (WI)

Southeast Fox River Partnership (WI)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox River (Illinois River Tributary) Algonquin, Illinois Elgin, Illinois Rivers of Kane County, Illinois Rivers of Kendall County, Illinois Rivers of Kenosha County, Wisconsin Rivers of Lake County, Illinois Rivers of LaSalle County, Illinois Rivers of McHenry County, Illinois Rivers of Racine County, Wisconsin Rivers of Waukesha County, Wisconsin Rivers of Illinois Rivers of Wisconsin Tributaries of the Illinois River

Wisconsin

Illinois

See also

References

External links