The Embarras River ( ) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 19, 2011 tributary of the Wabash River in southeastern Illinois in the United States. The waters of the Embarras reach the Gulf of Mexico via the Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers. The river drains a

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

around in an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

region. The name comes from French explorers, who used the term ''embarras'' for river obstacles, blockages, and difficulties relating to logjams and the like.

Course

The Embarras River rises in Champaign County. The upper reaches of the Embarras include the detention ponds near the intersection of Windsor Road with U.S. Route 45 in southeastern Champaign; the southern portion of the University of Illinois campus, including the small creek near the Vet Med Building; and Meadowbrook Park in south

Urbana __NOTOC__ Urbana can refer to: Places Italy *Urbana, Italy United States *Urbana, Illinois **Urbana (conference), a Christian conference formerly held in Urbana, Illinois *Urbana, Indiana * Urbana, Iowa *Urbana, Kansas * Urbana, Maryland *Urbana, ...

. The Embarras flows generally southward through

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

, Coles,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, and Jasper Counties. In Jasper County, it turns southeast for the remainder of its course through Richland,

Crawford Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

, and Lawrence Counties. In Coles County, a dam helps create Lake Charleston. Portions of the river's lower course have been straightened and

channelized Channelized in a telecommunications environment means that the line that communications have been transmitted over contains more than one message thread, separated in some fashion. Typical channelization methods include packetizing, frequency-d ...

. It joins the Wabash River southwest of Vincennes, Indiana. Along its course, the Embarras passes the towns of Villa Grove, Camargo,

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

, Greenup,

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

, Ste. Marie, and Lawrenceville.

Tributaries

* In its upper course in Champaign County, the river collects the East Branch Embarras River, which rises in southwestern Vermilion County and flows generally westwardly in a channelized course, past the town of Broadlands. * In Coles County, the Embarras collects the Little Embarras River, which rises in

Edgar County Edgar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 16,866. Its county seat is Paris. History Edgar County was formed out of Clark County in 1823. It was named for John Edgar ...

and flows southwestwardly. * In Jasper County, the Embarras collects the

North Fork Embarras River The North Fork Embarras River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 19, 2011 stream which originates in Edgar County, Illinois, and flows through Clark, Crawford and J ...

, long, which rises in Edgar County and flows southwardly through

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

and Crawford Counties.

Variant names

The

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

settled on "Embarras River" as the stream's official name in 1964. According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known as the "Ambraw River" and as the "Embarrass River."

Ecology

The only population of harlequin darters (''

Etheostoma histrio The harlequin darter (''Etheostoma histrio'') is a species of ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae which includes the perches, ruffes and pike-perches. It is endemic to the eastern half of th ...

'') in Illinois is found in the Embarras River.

History

In the 18th century, the Embarras River was part of the trail from Cahokia to Vincennes. The river route was used by George Rogers Clark's forces during the Illinois Campaign.

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. .

External links

Embarras River
- Illinois Geographic Alliance
Surf the Embarras with USEPAPrairie Rivers Network
{{authority control Rivers of Illinois Tributaries of the Wabash River Rivers of Champaign County, Illinois Rivers of Douglas County, Illinois Rivers of Coles County, Illinois Rivers of Cumberland County, Illinois Rivers of Jasper County, Illinois Rivers of Richland County, Illinois Rivers of Crawford County, Illinois Rivers of Lawrence County, Illinois