Clear Creek (Illinois) facts for kids

Clear Creek is a cool stream in southern Illinois. It starts in Jackson County and Union County, then flows into the mighty Mississippi River in Alexander County. It's a special place because parts of it are very clean and untouched by people.

Two Sides of Clear Creek

Clear Creek is like two different rivers in one! It's split into two main parts by some tall cliffs near the Mississippi River.

The Upper Part: A Clean Hill Stream

Near where it starts, Clear Creek is a really clean and fast-flowing stream. It winds through the hills of the Shawnee Hills region, close to a town called Cobden, Illinois.

What makes this part of Clear Creek so special? Its water stays clean because much of the land around it is protected. This includes two big wilderness areas in Illinois:

• Bald Knob Wilderness
• Clear Springs Wilderness

Another part of the creek's area is protected by the Trail of Tears State Forest. Most of the rest of the land around the creek is part of the Shawnee National Forest. This means these areas are kept wild and natural, which helps keep the creek's water pure.

The Lower Part: A Channelized Ditch

As Clear Creek flows west of Jonesboro, Illinois, it leaves the Shawnee Hills and enters the flat lands near the Mississippi River.

Long ago, this stream fed a long, thin wetland that stretched for about 15 miles (24 km) south, running next to the Mississippi. This wetland eventually flowed into an old part of the Mississippi River called the Picayune Chute, near Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Over time, people changed this area. During the 1900s, much of the wetland was dug up and drained. This was done to help control mosquitoes and to create more land for farming. Engineers dug a long ditch, sometimes called the Clear Creek Ditch (37°23′30″N 89°21′11″W / 37.391716°N 89.353143°W / 37.391716; -89.353143). This ditch carries Clear Creek's water even further south, about 8 miles (13 km), and also collects water from other creeks in the Shawnee Hills. Today, this creek/ditch flows into the Mississippi River near Thebes, Illinois.