Peoria Lake is a section 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 ...

between Peoria in

Peoria County, Illinois Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Peoria County was ...

and

East Peoria East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

Tazewell County, Illinois Tazewell County () is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 135,394. Its county seat and largest city is Pekin. It is pronounced with a short "a", to rhyme with "razz" rather than "raze." ...

. The oldest section of Peoria, the largest city on the river, lies at its shores. The lake is formed by a broadening of the

, and was first mentioned by the

Louis Joliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and ...

and

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Igna ...

expedition in 1674. Several important Native American settlements were located close to it, like the main villages of the Kickapoo and

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 ...

tribes. During early European colonization, the lake was called Pimitéoui ("Fat Lake"). And a French Fort on its banks was called Fort Pimitéoui (1691), later known as Old Fort Peoria. From a modern perspective, the lake runs from just south of the McClugage Bridge (

US 24 U.S. Route 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Mic ...

US 150 U.S. Route 150 (US 150) is a 571-mile (919 km) long northwest-southeast United States highway, signed as east–west. It runs from U.S. Route 6 outside of Moline, Illinois to U.S. Route 25 in Mount Vernon, Kentucky. Route description I ...

/War Memorial Drive) to the

Murray Baker Bridge The Murray Baker Bridge is a landmark cantilever bridge that carries Interstate 74 (I-74) and Illinois Route 29 (IL 29) over the Illinois River from downtown Peoria to East Peoria in central Illinois. According to the Illinois ...

(

Interstate 74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange ...

). The larger Upper Peoria Lake flows into the lake on its north side. The lake is currently a regional tourist attraction and is used for practice of many

watersports Water sports or aquatic sports are sport activities conducted on waterbodies, and can be categorized according to the degree of immersion by the participants. On the water * Boat racing, the use of powerboats to participate in races * Boatin ...

. It is also the usual site for the City of Peoria's

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

fireworks display.

External links

Peoria Lake Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project
– by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

* Lakes of Illinois Bodies of water of Peoria County, Illinois Bodies of water of Tazewell County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Peoria County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Tazewell County, Illinois Illinois River Tourist attractions in Peoria, Illinois {{TazewellCountyIL-geo-stub

See also

External links