Macoupin Creek is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the
Illinois River, which it joins near the village of
Hardin, Illinois
Hardin is a village in Calhoun County, Illinois, United States. The population was 801 at the 2020 census, down from 967 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Calhoun County.
Geography
Hardin is located at (39.158271, -90.618239).
Accor ...
.
The word ''macoupin'' refers to the yellow pond lily
(''
Nuphar advena
''Nuphar advena'' (spatterdock or cow lily or yellow pond-lily) is a species of ''Nuphar
''Nuphar'' is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae, with a temperate to subarctic Northern Hemisphere distribution. Common names include w ...
''), a native plant of the regional
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 p ...
s, and a favorite food source of local Indians. It has a large rootstock (a
tuber
Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...
) that was baked in a fire pit. The spelling is derived from
French attempts at documenting the pronunciation of the
Miami-Illinois
Miami-Illinois (endonym: , ) also known as Irenwa, or Irenwe is an indigenous Algonquian language spoken in the United States, primarily in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, western Ohio and adjacent areas along the Mississippi River by the Miami a ...
, with ''macoupin'' being the modern form of the earlier French .
Macoupin Creek has been channelized near its junction with the Illinois River. A straight channel cuts through old
oxbows __NOTOC__
An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or bullock. A bow pin holds it in place.
The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meander in a river, ...
on a direct path to the river. The old channel meanders through the Illinois bottoms for about before joining the river, near the village of
Hardin. The two channels thus form an island, called Macoupin Island, across the Illinois River from Hardin.
The old channel of Macoupin Creek forms the northwestern boundary between
Greene
Greene may refer to:
Places United States
*Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community
*Greene, Iowa, a city
*Greene, Maine, a town
** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene
*Greene (town), New York
** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...
and
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...
Counties. The actual boundary is ambiguous because of the shifting creek.
The creek is about in length. The lower of the creek runs in a narrow valley, usually less than a mile wide, between steep bluffs that rise up to high. The bottom of the valley is mainly flat, and has little or no gradient in the downstream direction. The modern channel runs in a straight line, with little evidence of old oxbows. This portion of Macoupin Creek therefore appears to be a drainage ditch that was dug through a swamp or a marsh, that had no well-defined natural channel. This matches with old accounts that this area was a wetland, with natural lakes, and vast amounts of growing macoupin.
Cities, towns and counties
The following cities, towns and villages are drained by Macoupin Creek:
*
Carlinville
*
Farmersville
*
Girard
*
Greenfield
*
Kane
*
Medora
*
Palmyra
Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...
*
Royal Lakes
*
Shipman
Parts of the following counties are in the Macoupin Creek watershed:
*
Greene County
*
Jersey County
*
Montgomery County
*
Macoupin County
Parks and access points
*
Beaver Dam State Park
Lakes and impoundments
*Bunn Lake
*Carlinville Lake
*New Gillespie Lake
*Otter Lake
*Sunset Lake
See also
*
List of Illinois rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Illinois:
By drainage basin
Gulf of Mexico
*Mississippi River
** Ohio River
*** Lusk Creek
*** Saline River
***Wabash River
**** Little Wabash River
***** Skillet Fork
***** Elm River
***** Fox River
...
References
External links
Beaver Dam State Park HistoryPrairie Rivers NetworkTopoQuest map of Mouth of Macoupin CreekUSGS Stream Gage Macoupin Creek
{{authority control
Rivers of Greene County, Illinois
Rivers of Jersey County, Illinois
Rivers of Macoupin County, Illinois
Rivers of Illinois
Tributaries of the Illinois River