Wood River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, which it joins near

East Alton, Illinois East Alton is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,301 at the 2010 census. History East Alton was incorporated as a village in 1893 (some say 1894). William Cobb, namesake of Cobb Street, was one of the fir ...

, to the northeast of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. The Wood River is formed by the confluence of its West and East forks. These come together near where they drop down from the Mississippi bluffs. The natural channel of the Wood River used to follow the Mississippi through the bottoms before joining it. This has been cut off by an artificial channel that runs through flood control structures directly to the Mississippi. In 1803, the Wood River (then known in French as ''Rivière du Bois''), gave its name to

Camp Wood Camp Wood is a city in Real County, Texas, USA, in the Texas Hill Country, which is part of the Edwards Plateau. The population was 706 at the 2010 census. History The town was established in 1920. Geography Camp Wood is located at (29.6 ...

, where the

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

expedition assembled. The West Fork of the Wood River is long, and the East Fork is long. Honeycut Branch is a major tributary of the West Fork, and Girder Branch is a major tributary of the East Fork. The mouth of the Wood River was a highly industrialized area during much of the 20th century. The Olin Chemical plant produced explosives and munitions for the wars of the last century. This remains as the Winchester ammunition plant. The Wood River petroleum refinery continues to operate on a reduced scale.

Cities, towns and counties

The following cities, towns and villages are in the Wood River watershed: *

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

* Bethalto * East Alton *

Wood River Wood River may refer to: Rivers In Canada * Wood River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Columbia River via Kinbasket Lake * Wood River (Saskatchewan), a river in south-west Saskatchewan In Ireland * Wood River (County Clare), Kilru ...

* Woodburn The following Illinois counties are drained in part by the Wood River: * Jersey County * Macoupin County * Madison County

References

External links

Prairie Rivers NetworkWinchester Ammunition Plant, East AltonWood River Refinery MuseumWood River Refinery
Rivers of Illinois Rivers of Jersey County, Illinois Rivers of Macoupin County, Illinois Rivers of Madison County, Illinois {{Illinois-river-stub

Cities, towns and counties

See also

References

External links