The list of ecoregions in Illinois are lists of terrestrial ecoregions (see also, ecosystem) of the United States' State of Illinois, as defined separately by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and by the World Wildlife Fund. Illinois' ecology is in a land area of ; the state is long and wide and is located between latitude: 36.9540° to 42.4951° N, and longitude: 87.3840° to 91.4244° W, with primarily a humid continental climate.

USEPA

The EPA ecoregion classification system has four levels, but only Levels I, III, and IV are shown on this list. Level I divides North America into 15 broad ecoregions (or

biomes A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

). Illinois is almost entirely within the Eastern Temperate Forest environment Level I region, although very small sections in its extreme west are in the Great Plains, Level I region. Level IV ecoregions (denoted by numbers and letters) are a further subdivision of Level III ecoregions (denoted by numbers alone). In general, Illinois transitions from the forests, to

savannah 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 (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, to tall grass prairie, and is now largely used for agriculture or urbanized, although in its far south are the forested highlands of the Shawnee Hills and along its major rivers varying topography and biome occurs. Its larger ecoregion areas are 'corn belt' plains, known for rich, thick

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...

(in its north, center and east, particularly 54a) and the 'rivers and hills' region, which also has large till plains in Illinois' south (72j) and west (72i).

Great Plains

*40

Central Irregular Plains Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known ...

(small section in the west) **40a - Loess Flats and Till Plains *47

Western Corn Belt Plains The Western Corn Belt Plains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in seven U.S. states, though predominantly in Iowa. It has been subdivided into fifteen Level IV ecoregions. Description Once covered ...

(small section in the west) **47f - Rolling Loess Prairies

Eastern Temperate Forest

These forests stretch from eastern Texas and northern Florida to the Adirondacks and Wisconsin. For a general description of these forests, refer to Temperate Deciduous Forest. The standard reference is ''The Deciduous Forest of Eastern North America''.Braun, E. L. 1950. The Deciduous Forest of Eastern North America. New York: Hafner. * 52 Driftless Area (far northwestern Illinois) **52a - Savanna Section **52b - Paleozoic Plateau/Coulee Section * 53 Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains (northern Illinois) **53a -

Rock River Rock River may refer to: Streams ;United States * Rock River (Mississippi River), a tributary of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin and Illinois * Rock River (Iowa), a tributary of the Big Sioux River in Minnesota and Iowa * Rock River (Lake Mich ...

Drift Plain **53b - Kettle Moraines * 54 Central Corn Belt Plains (northern and central Illinois) **54a - Illinois/Indiana Prairies **54b -

Chicago Lake (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Plain **54c -

Kankakee Marsh Kankakee may refer to Places * Kankakee, Illinois * Kankakee, Indiana * Kankakee Community College * Kankakee County, Illinois * Kankakee River State Park * Kankakee State Hospital * Kankakee Valley High School Geology * Kankakee Arch * Kankakee O ...

**54d - Sand Area **54e -

Chiwaukee Prairie Chiwaukee Prairie is a prairie in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (about midway between ''Chi''cago and Mil''waukee''). It is located on Lake Michigan at the Illinois state line and includes gr ...

Region **54f - Valparaiso-Wheaton Morainal Complex **54g -

Hills * 71 Interior Plateau (far southern Illinois) **71a - Crawford- Mammoth Cave Uplands **71m - Northern Shawnee Hills **71n - Southern Shawnee Hills * 72 Interior River Valleys and Hills (along the State boundary rivers and into the interior along 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 ...

, also the broad somewhat hillier southern and western till plains) **72a - Wabash-Ohio Bottomlands **72b - Glaciated Wabash Lowlands **72d - Upper Mississippi Alluvial Plain **72e - Middle Mississippi Alluvial Plain **72f - River Hills **72g - Southern Ozarkian River Bluffs **72i - Western Dissected Illinoian Till Plain **72j - Southern Illinoian Till Plain **72k - Cretaceous Hills **72l - Karstic Northern Ozarkian River Bluffs **72m - Wabash River Bluffs and Low Hills * 73 Mississippi Alluvial Plain (extreme southern Illinois) **73a - Northern Holocene Meander Belts **73c - St. Francis Lowlands

World Wildlife Fund

References

External links

* tp://ftp.epa.gov/wed/ecoregions/il/il_report.pdf Illinois Ecoregions Reportfrom the EPA {{DEFAULTSORT:Ecoregions In Illinois, List Of Illinois Environment of Illinois Illinois geography-related lists Illinois United States science-related lists