The Mackinaw 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 ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. Its watershed covers approximately , and contains some of the most productive

agricultural land Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other organism, forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous ...

in the United States. The river itself maintains some of the highest quality streams in the state and provides habitat for 60-70 native

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

species and 25-30 species of

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,0 ...

. Its name, also spelled ''Mackinac'', is derived from the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

word ''mikinaak'' meaning "turtle".

Description

The Mackinaw River begins near

Sibley, Illinois Sibley is a village in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 272 at the 2010 census. History The site of Sibley was laid out for Michael L. Sullivant, the namesake of Sullivant Township, in 1877. Sullivant sold the land to Hira ...

, in Ford County. From its headwaters the river flows west through McLean County, where it provides drainage to part of the

Bloomington–Normal Bloomington–Normal, officially known as the Bloomington, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in Central Illinois anchored by the twin municipalities of Bloomington and Normal. At the 2010 census, the municipaliti ...

metropolitan area, and Woodford County. It continues west and then southwestward through Tazewell County before flowing into the Illinois River just south of Pekin. The river flows through three natural divisions, including the Grand Prairie, Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Bottomlands, and Illinois and Mississippi Sand Areas. Early in its life, several thousand years ago following 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 Cor ...

, it cut through several

moraines 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 she ...

, which influenced the structure of the riverbed. The upper section of the watershed is marked by a series of pools and fast-flowing riffles. The character of the river downstream of the moraines is markedly different, with a relatively wide floodplain, large meanders and erosion-prone sandy banks. Its principal tributaries are Panther, Walnut and Money creeks, and the

Little Mackinaw River The Little Mackinaw River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a tributary of the Mackinaw River, which it joins ...

History

People of the

Hopewell culture The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from ...

lived in the area 1,700 to 2,100 years ago. The Kickapoo,

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 ...

, Chippewa, and

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 ...

peoples also fished, hunted and lived along the river for several centuries, through the 1830s. In 1853 a group of 200 Kickapoo still lived along the river but they were expected to move to a reservation in Missouri the next year. There are only a few villages along or near the Mackinaw River. These include (beginning up stream): Sibley, Colfax, Lexington, and Mackinaw. Each was laid out prior to the arrival of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the region during the 1850s, which diminished the importance of river transport. The

Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area The Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area is a state park in Tazewell County, Illinois. It is operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). The Area dates to 1970, when a conservation group based in Bloomington, the P ...

is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

along the river in Tazewell County. Operated by the

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

, the area provides opportunities for fishing, canoeing, hiking, hunting and general interaction with nature.

References

{{authority control Tributaries of the Illinois River Rivers of Ford County, Illinois Rivers of McLean County, Illinois Rivers of Illinois Rivers of Tazewell County, Illinois Rivers of Woodford County, Illinois

Description

History

See also

References