Rush Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed May 19, 2011 tributary of the Kishwaukee River in northern Illinois.James, L. Allan. ''Management and Restoration of Fluvial Systems with Broad Historical Changes and Human Impacts'',
Google Books link
, ''

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...

'', 2009, pp. 110-111, (), (). There is another Rush Creek that is a tributary of the Mississippi River in Carroll County.

Course

Rush Creek's origin is in a complex of wetlands near

Harvard, Illinois Harvard is a city located in McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 9,469 at the 2020 census. The city is 63 miles from the Chicago Loop and it is the last stop on the Union Pacific/Northwest Line. History The original owners of the l ...

, two miles southeast. The stream then flows southwest until it empties into the main stem of the Kishwaukee River one mile east of Garden Prairie.
Rush Creek - Subwatershed Plan
', ''Kishwaukee River Ecosystem Partnership'', May 2005, accessed January 24, 2011.

Description

Approximately 65% of the main stem of Rush Creek has been channelized (ditched and straighten), however 50% of those areas are showing signs of recovery. Despite the channelization and encroachment from agriculture many of the stream's features such as

riffle A riffle is a shallow landform in a flowing channel. Colloquially, it is a shallow place in a river where water flows quickly past rocks. However, in geology a riffle has specific characteristics. Topographic, sedimentary and hydraulic indica ...

s can still be seen.

Wildlife

Twenty-nine species of fish have been identified within Rush Creek and its tributaries, two of those species have not been seen in the watershed since 1965 - the

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...

and the largescale stoneroller. Three animal species are on state or federal endangered or threatened lists - river otter, and two mussels, ''Elliptio dilatata'' (Spike) and '' Alasmidonta viridis'' (Slippershell).

References

{{authority control Tributaries of the Kishwaukee River Rivers of McHenry County, Illinois Rivers of Illinois