The Kankakee River is a tributary 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 ...

, approximately long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and northeastern

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. At one time, the river drained one of the largest

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and furnished a significant

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

between the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and 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 ...

. Significantly altered from its original channel, it flows through a primarily rural farming region of reclaimed cropland, south of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

Description

The Kankakee rises in northwestern Indiana, approximately southwest of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

. It flows in a straight channelized course, generally southwestward through rural northwestern Indiana, collecting the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

from the south in Starke County, and passing the communities of South Center and English Lake. It forms the border between LaPorte,

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

, and

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

counties on the north and Starke,

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

, and Newton counties on the south. The river curves westward and ceases to be channelized as it enters

Kankakee County Kankakee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 113,449. Its county seat is Kankakee. Kankakee County comprises the Kankakee, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History St ...

in northeastern Illinois. Approximately southeast of the city of Kankakee, it receives the Iroquois River from the south and turns sharply to the northwest for its lower . It joins the

Des Plaines River The Des Plaines River () is a river that flows southward for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois''American Her ...

from the south to form the

, approximately southwest of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The Kankakee River Basin drains in northwest

, in northeast Illinois, and about in southwest Lower Michigan. The Kankakee River heads near South Bend, then flows westward into Illinois, where it joins with the Des Plaines River to form the Illinois. The area of Lake County which originally drained to Lake Michigan but now drains by means of artificial diversion to the Illinois River is not considered to be part of the Kankakee River Basin study region. Although the Kankakee River basin includes portions of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, the discussion below will focus on the Indiana portion of the basin.

Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain

A 1908 Fig 16 Lobes of Retreating Ice (Mich)

The Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain, a large and poorly drained plain, comprises approximately the southern quarter of both Lake and Porter counties. It is the most recent of the three landscape regions to face the pressures of impending urbanization. Large portions of the area were once marshland associated with the meandering Kankakee River, which, for eight or nine months of the year, was flanked on both sides by wetlands. The marsh area was wide and contained water deep. The low marshland was broken by infrequent islands of sand blown into dunes. The sand islands were the sites of Indian encampments and later of pioneer homes. The Kankakee marsh was an effective barrier to early southerly exploration of both counties, but the area has been progressively drained by ditches constructed during the past 60 years.

Landscape

The Kankakee River Basin is a product of the Wisconsin Glacial Episode. It is a remnant of the glacial lakes that comprised the Lake Michigan lobe of the ice sheet. Landscape elements include 1) the nearly level plains of a ground moraine, 2) eolian (wind driven deposits) plains, 3) outwash deposits, 4) the central river basin and 5)

end moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

s forming the north, middle and southern borders. Local relief varies from along the Iroquois Moraine, up to on the

Valparaiso Moraine The Valparaiso Moraine is a recessional moraine (a land form left by receding glaciers) that forms an immense U around the southern Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is the longest moraine. It is a band of hilly terrain composed of glac ...

. Deposits range from in the lower basin (western). The deepest deposits of are in the upper basin (eastern). Along the Valparaiso Moraine, deposits can reach thick.

Outwash An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and ca ...

deposits occur primarily along the northern border of the basin. The southern half of the Kankakee Basin, south of the main river channel, is characterized by the fine-grained sediments that are wind driven, forming a series of broad eolian sand dunes and ridges. These are of moderate height.

lacustrine A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

silts and clays are mixed with the various waterborne and wind driven deposits throughout the basin.

Bedrock

The bedrock underlying the Kankakee Basin is primarily of

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

age. There are also strata from the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

, and Mississippian periods. The Silurian rocks are primarily

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. A major subterranean feature is the Kankakee Arch; it is an extension of the

Cincinnati Arch The Cincinnati Arch is a broad structural uplift between the Illinois Basin to the west, the Michigan Basin to the northwest and the Appalachian Basin and Black Warrior Basin to the east and southeast. It existed as a positive topographic area du ...

. North of the arch, the strata dip towards Lake Michigan and the

Michigan Basin The Michigan Basin is a geologic basin centered on the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The feature is represented by a nearly circular pattern of geologic sedimentary strata in the area with a nearly uniform structural dip toward ...

. To the south, the strata dips southwest toward the Illinois Basin. Within the Kankakee Basin (Lake,

, and Pulaski counties), the rock strata are nearly flat, being at the top of the arch.

Current conditions

The Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service contains current data for river depths. Contrary to what may be shown in online mapping sites or GPS software, the bridge over the Kankakee River on State Line Road near the public ramp at the Indiana–Illinois state line is closed and partially dismantled. Some fishing maps and websites about the river may include road directions to the public ramp at the state line, with outdated information. The public ramp is located on the north side of the river, and with the bridge out, it is not accessible from the south side, from

Illinois Route 114 Illinois Route 114 is a rural east–west state route that connects State Road 10 in Indiana, USA, with Illinois Route 1 and Illinois Route 17 (Dixie Highway Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect t ...

Indiana State Road 10 State Road 10 (SR 10) is an east–west road in northwest Indiana. Its western terminus is at the Illinois state line west of Lake Village. Its eastern terminus is at State Road 19 (SR 19) south of Etna Green. Route description ...

. As of September 7, 2008, the old iron bridge at the Indiana–Illinois state line had been removed from its concrete supports and was set on the ground, clearing the water by only approximately , making it possible to pass beneath only in small boats, canoes, etc.

History

Kankakee Torrent

The Kankakee River was originally formed around 16,000 years ago by an event known as the

Kankakee Torrent The Kankakee Torrent was a catastrophic flood that occurred about 19,000 calibrated years agoCurry, B.B., Hajic, E.R., Clark, J.A., Befus, K.M., Carrell, J.E. and Brown, S.E., 2014. "The Kankakee Torrent and other large meltwater flooding ev ...

. A

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

resulting from meltwater from the

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...

breached the

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

s (located in what is today northern Indiana) holding it in. The resultant flood created the bed of the Kankakee River and had even greater impact in what is today the state of Illinois.

Grand Kankakee Marsh

Up through the early 19th century, the river furnished an important water transportation route through the

Illinois Country The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...

for both Native Americans and early

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

settlers, notably the French

fur trappers The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

. The headwaters of the river near present-day South Bend allowed a portage to the St. Joseph River, which drains into

, as well as furnishing a subsequent portage to the

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

watershed. The Kankakee, thus, was part of an inland

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

route connecting the Great Lakes to the Illinois River and subsequently to the Mississippi River. Kankakee River at Momence

Until the end of the 19th century, the river was nearly long, flowing in a highly

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

ing course through a vast complex of wetlands surrounding the river, that was known as the

Grand Kankakee Marsh Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and comm ...

. Encompassing , it was one of the largest marsh wetlands in the United States.

LaPorte and Starke county line

Today, the Kankakee essentially forms the county line between LaPorte and Starke counties. However, when the two counties were originally proposed, Starke County's borders were such that the river divided the county and effectively isolated the north-west portion. In order to reach the rest of the county, it was necessary for residents in this area to travel some distance east to Lemon's bridge, before making the journey south. These residents petitioned the state to be annexed by LaPorte County, and this was done on January 28, 1842. The area of land relinquished by Starke County became the townships of

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Ca ...

, Dewey, Hanna, and

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

in LaPorte County.

Draining the riverine wetland

Beginning in the mid-19th century, much of the basin of wetlands was drained to create cultivated cropland. Two large ditches were constructed in 1858, as part of the Swamp Act of 1852, the first attempt to drain the marsh. A lobby grew among the large landholders in Lake County who advocated the complete drainage of the marsh, but due to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and the subsequent economic downturn, little action occurred until the 1880s. In 1884, meetings were held by land owners in South Bend to discuss the drainage of the marsh. Two of the largest landholders agreed to build a network of drainage ditches in their lands to begin draining the eastern edge of the marsh. State funding was granted to the project during the term of Indiana Governor

Claude Matthews Claude Matthews (December 14, 1845 – August 28, 1898) was an American politician who served as the 23rd governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1893 to 1897. A farmer, he was nominated to prevent the loss of voters to the Populist Party ...

and the project was expanded to include the entire marsh. At the time, it was heralded as a great advance for the state which was also in the process of draining the

Great Black Swamp The Great Black Swamp (also known simply as the Black Swamp) was a glacially fed wetland in northwest Ohio, sections of lower Michigan, and extreme northeast Indiana, United States, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until t ...

. By 1910, most of the marshlands were drained and work on rerouting the Kankakee River began. In 1917, the river was dredged to make it significantly deeper; by 1922, the process was mostly completed and the river was several miles shorter than its original course. The upper river was also highly channelized with

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

s to allow easier transport of cut timber from the wetlands to saw mills downstream in Illinois. The channelization aided in the desiccation of the surrounding wetlands and reduced the river to less than half of its original length. Of the original marsh, only remain, comprising approximately one percent of the original area. The channelization of the river has rendered it especially prone to

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing. Starting in the 1980s, federal and state efforts have attempted to restore part of the original

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the river through strategic widening of the levees.

Today

The river remains a popular destination for recreational canoeing and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

for warm-water species. Kankakee River State Park is located along the river, northwest of Kankakee, Illinois. The

Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area The Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area is situated in Starke County at the junction of the Yellow River with the Kankakee River. The state purchased of marshland in 1927 for a Civilian Conservation Corp. camp. The camp consisted of up to 400 men. ...

is located in Indiana.

Route

St. Joseph County (South Bend)

The headwaters of the Kankakee River is southwest of downtown

, within the city limits. An area of wetlands and springs to the northwest of the South Bend Ethanol Plant is the start of the Kankakee River. An old Indian portage, about long, stretched from this area towards the northeast to what are today Highland and Riverview cemeteries, along what were once the banks of the St. Joseph River, but now forms a bank of Pinhook Park Lagoon. The St. Joseph River drains into Lake Michigan. The famous Council Oak Tree stood along this portage about from the St. Joseph River. Farms fields cover what was once a marshland.Report on the Water and Related Land Resources, Kankakee River Basin, Indiana, Comprehensive Basin Study; Department of Natural Resources; Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Interior; United States; November 1976 The river has been "ditched" and is called Dixon West Place Ditch. Below Crumstown, Geyer Ditch joins it from the north, flowing out of Berrien County in southern

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

LaPorte and Starke counties

The Kankakee River passes through the southeast corner of Starke County. Here it takes on a more natural appearance with wetlands spreading out along both sides of the river. The river channels form the northern border between Starke County and LaPorte County to its north. These are some of the more extensive wetlands along the upper river. The

is a state managed wildlife area, heavily managed to control water levels throughout the year. Here, the

(the second largest branch of the Kankakee) joins the main river.

Porter County

The Kankakee River also forms the southern boundary of

Porter County Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago m ...

, delimiting an area of farm land and wetland forest. Throughout this area, the Kankakee is also called the Marble Power Ditch. This is the heart of the Grand Kankakee Marsh, which was drained in the early 20th century. The earliest recorded crossing of the Kankakee was at Baum's Bridge, on South Baum's Bridge Road (Porter County) to CR 200 W ( Jasper County). The other historic crossing between Porter County and Jasper County is Dunn's Bridge, further east; CR 500 E (Porter County) to CR 400 E (Jasper County). File:Dunns Bridge.jpg, Dunns Bridge over the Kankakee (County Rd 500 E) File:Kankakee River SR49 Winter.jpg, Kankakee River in winter (SR 49) Kankakee River Aukiki 25

Jasper County

Jasper County is south of the Kankakee River and dotted with sand hills and wetlands. Much of the area has been drained to create farmland, but numerous conservation areas have been established along the river's borders, such as the ''Aukiki Wetland Conservation Area'' and the surrounding ''NIPSCO Savanna''.

Lake and Newton counties

The Kankakee River forms the border between Lake County to the north and Newton County on the south. Along this section of the river, the channel has been straightened, passing between Shelby on the north and

Thayer Thayer may refer to: Places ;United States * Thayer, Illinois * Thayer, Indiana * Thayer, Iowa * Thayer, Kansas * Thayer, Michigan * Thayer, Missouri * Thayer, Nebraska *Thayer, West Virginia * Thayer County, Nebraska * Thayer Street, Providence, ...

on the south. The LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area dominates both sides of the river, as it makes its exit from Indiana and enters Illinois.

Kankakee County

Entering Illinois, the river returns to its natural channel, winding its way to

Momence, Illinois Momence is a city and capital of Momence township, Illinois it is located in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,171 at the 2000 census, and 3,310 in 2010. It is part of the Kankakee– Bradley Metropolitan Statis ...

. This is the last section of the Grand Kankakee Marsh that has never been ditched. It is at Momence that the river crosses a limestone shelf, referred to as the Momence Dam. This natural feature's resistance to erosion created a blockage in the flow of the Kankakee River, backing up water and thereby creating the Grand Marsh that once covered . The dam's removal is part of the story of the draining the marsh. Beyond Momence, the river takes on a more traditional image, flowing across the rolling hills of

. File:Kankakee River Momence.JPG, Kankakee River in flood, Momence, Illinois (January 1, 2009 File:Kankakee_River_SP_(old_Bridge_Piers).JPG, Kankakee River State Park, Old Bridge Piers (January 1, 2009)

Will County

The river enters

Will County, Illinois Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county seat ...

, for only a short distance before joining the

. Here, in the Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area, the two rivers form the

for the journey to the

Political entities

Indiana

Because of the river's wide valley and historic great marsh, there are few towns on the river throughout the entire length of Indiana. Most towns are located either north or south, on high ground, just outside the marshes. Today, the marshes have been drained and it is not apparent why the towns are so far from the river. * St. Joseph County ** Greene Township ***

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

** Liberty Township *** North Liberty ** Lincoln Township *** Walkerton ** Olive Township * LaPorte County ** Kankakee Township ** Pleasant Township ** Lincoln Township ** Washington Township ***

Kingsbury Kingsbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Kingsbury, London, a district of northwest London in the borough of Brent ** Kingsbury tube station, London Underground station * Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a village and civil parish in Warwickshi ...

** Johnson Township ** Union Township *** Kingsford Heights ** Noble Township ** Hanna Township *** Hanna ** Clinton Township ** Prairie Township ** Cass Township *** Wanatah ** Dewey Township ***

LaCrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

* Starke County ** Davis Township ***

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

** Jackson Township ** Railroad Township. The

joins the Kankakee River here. *** English Lake *** Lomax *

** Washington Township ** Morgan Township ** Pleasant Township *** Kouts ** Union Township ** Boone Township ***

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

* Jasper County While all of Jasper County is in the Kankakee River basin, most of the county is on the Iroquois River, rather than directly on the Kankakee's main stem. ** Kankakee Township ** Wheatfield Township *** Dunns Bridge *** Wheatfield ** Keener Township ***Baums Bridge *** Demote * Lake County ** Winfield Township *** Winfield ** Eagle Creek Township ** Center Township ** Cedar Creek Township ** St. John Township *** St. John ** Hanover Township *** Cedar Lake ** West Creek Township *** Schneider *** Shelby * Newton County Like Jasper County, Newton County is in the Kankakee River basin, but most of the county is on the Iroquois River, and not on the Kankakee's main stem. ** Lincoln Township *** Roselawn ***Thayer ** Colfax Township ** Lake Township ***Sumava Resort *** Lake Village ** McClellan Township ** Beaver Township

Illinois

All of Kankakee County is in the Kankakee River basin. About half is on the Iroquois River Branch. ** Yellowhead Township ** Momence Township *** Momence ** Pembroke Township ** Sumner Township ** Ganeer Township ** Aroma Township This is where the Iroquois River joins the Kankakee River. ** Rockville Township ** Bourbonnais Township ** Kankakee Township *** City of Kankakee ** Manteno Township ** Limestone Township ***

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

** Salina Township *

Will County Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

* Grundy County This is where the Kankakee River joins the Des Plaines River to form the Illinois

Parks and preserves

Indiana

Kankakee River (main stem) * Rum Village Woods, South Bend, St. Joseph County (bird watching and small mammals) *

Potato Creek State Park Potato Creek State Park is an Indiana state park located in north-central part of the U.S. state of Indiana about southwest of South Bend. Potato Creek is open year-round and supports various activities and facilities, including fishing, hikin ...

, North Liberty, St. Joseph County * Fish Lake Wildlife Conservation Area, Fish Lake, LaPorte County * Kingsbury Fish and Wildlife Area, Kingsbury, LaPorte County *

, English Lake, Starke County * Koontz Lake Nature Preserve, Koontz Lake, Starke County (black oak savanna & lowland marsh) * Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area, Radioville, Pulaski County * Stoutsburg Savanna Nature Preserve, Wheatfield, Jasper County (rolling sand ridges) *

LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area is a protected area that covers dedicated to providing hunting and fishing opportunities. It is located south on County Road 650W, near Lake Village, Indiana on the Kankakee River. Wildlife During the spring migra ...

* Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve, Conrad, Newton County (black and white oak savanna) *

Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area is an area in Newton County, Indiana dedicated to providing hunting and fishing opportunities while maintaining , 1,800 of which are open water, marshes, and flooded crop land. History Willow Slough began with ...

, Morocco, Newton County Yellow River Branch * Menominees Wildlife Conservation Area, Plymouth, Marshall County Iroquois River Branch * Newton County Fair Grounds, Kentland, Newton County

Illinois

* Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area * Forest Preserves of the Kankakee River Valley ** Aroma Land and Water Preserve,

St. Anne According to Christianity, Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Gospel#Canonical gospels, canonical gospels. ...

** Gar Creek Trail and Prairie Restoration, Kankakee ** Limestone Reforestation Site, Kankakee ** Shannon Bayou Environmental Education Center, Aroma Park ** Strasma Grove, Kankakee ** Waldron Arboretum, Aroma Park ** Zeedyk Meadows, St. Anne *Island Park, Momence * Kankakee River State Park

Named for the Kankakee

* USS Kankakee (AO-39), a Kennebec-class fleet oiler of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

built in 1942. * U.S. Kankakee, a

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

cutter built in 1919 used on the

. *

Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 24,052. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. It serves as an ...

* Kankakee River State Park

References

External links

Northern Illinois Anglers Association

Annual Kankakee & Iroquois River Clean Up

Grand Kankakee Marsh

Kankakee Valley Historical Society
*
The Kankakee River Yesterday and Today
{{authority control Rivers of Jasper County, Indiana Rivers of Kankakee County, Illinois Rivers of Lake County, Indiana Rivers of LaPorte County, Indiana Rivers of Newton County, Indiana Rivers of Porter County, Indiana Rivers of St. Joseph County, Indiana Rivers of Starke County, Indiana Rivers of Will County, Illinois Mississippi River watershed Portages in the United States Rivers of Illinois Rivers of Indiana Tributaries of the Illinois River

Description

Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain

Landscape

Bedrock

Current conditions

History

Kankakee Torrent

Grand Kankakee Marsh

LaPorte and Starke county line

Draining the riverine wetland

Today

Route

St. Joseph County (South Bend)

LaPorte and Starke counties

Porter County

Jasper County

Lake and Newton counties

Kankakee County

Will County

Political entities

Indiana

Illinois

Parks and preserves

Indiana

Illinois

Named for the Kankakee

See also

References

External links