Lick Creek 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
Lake Springfield
Lake Springfield is a reservoir on the southeast edge of the city of Springfield, Illinois. It is above sea level. The lake was formed in 1931–1935 by building Spaulding Dam across Sugar Creek, a tributary of the Sangamon River.
The lake wa ...
and thus a tributary of the
Sangamon River
The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Stat ...
in central
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 ...
.
It drains a large portion of southwestern
Sangamon County
Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital.
Sangamon County is included in the S ...
and a marginal adjacent fragment of southeastern
Morgan County. The drainage of Lick Creek includes all of
Loami, Illinois
Loami is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 745 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is adjacent to the Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary, a parcel of tallgras ...
and part of
Chatham, Illinois
Chatham is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. It is located 2.8 miles south of Springfield and has a retail trade area that extends into four other municipalities, including Springfield. The population was 11,500 as of the 20 ...
.
Much of the Lick Creek drainage is intensely farmed arable land. The drainage also contains of Wildlife Preserve natural area. When land parcels were condemned for Lake Springfield in the 1920s and 1930s, a large section of the lower Lick Creek bottomland was set aside as woodland to protect the lake's water quality. This riparian zone was designated as the ''Lick Creek Wildlife Preserve'' by its owner, the
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
-based
, in 1991. According to Sangamon County, the watershed protection zone contains a notable grove of mixed
sugar maple
''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prima ...
s and
chinkapin oaks. One chinkapin, located in Camp Widjiwagan, has been dated at more than 300 years of age.
In addition, a creekside parcel, the
Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary The Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary is a private-sector nonprofit park and wildlife sanctuary located near Loami in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Friends of the Sangamon Valley, the sanctuary commemorates its benefactors, farmers Frank an ...
near Loami, has been redesignated for restoration as
tallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroach ...
.
Lick Creek gave its name to a short-lived
Fourierite phalanx
The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly use ...
, a Utopian socialist community that operated near Loami in 1845–1846.
The
Interurban Trail, a local bike trail, bridges the Lick Creek arm of Lake Springfield. The bridge area forms a local fishing hole.
The U.S.
Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...
(GNIS) shows 12 streams bearing the name Lick Creek in Illinois.
References
Rivers of Morgan County, Illinois
Rivers of Illinois
Rivers of Sangamon County, Illinois
{{Illinois-river-stub