List of rivers of Illinois facts for kids
Illinois is a state in the United States. It's known for its big cities, farms, and, of course, its many rivers! Rivers are super important. They provide water for drinking, help farmers grow crops, and are home to lots of amazing wildlife. They also help us travel and transport goods. This page lists the main rivers that flow through Illinois.
Contents
Rivers of Illinois: Where Water Flows
Rivers are like the veins of the land, carrying water from higher places to lower ones. In Illinois, rivers play a huge role in the state's history, economy, and natural beauty. They provide homes for fish and other animals, and they're great places for people to boat, fish, and enjoy nature.
How Rivers Connect: Drainage Basins
Imagine a giant funnel. All the water that falls into that funnel eventually goes out through its narrow end. A "drainage basin" is like that funnel for a river system. It's an area of land where all the rain and snowmelt eventually flow into a specific river. This river then carries the water to a larger body, like an ocean or a big lake. Illinois has rivers that flow into two major drainage basins.
Rivers Flowing to the Gulf of Mexico
Most of Illinois's rivers are part of the huge Mississippi River drainage basin. This means their water eventually joins the Mississippi River, which then travels all the way south to the Gulf of Mexico.
- Mississippi River
- Ohio River: A very large river that forms part of Illinois's southeastern border.
- Lusk Creek
- Saline River
- Wabash River: This river forms part of Illinois's eastern border with Indiana.
- Ohio River: A very large river that forms part of Illinois's southeastern border.
* Skillet Fork * Elm River * Fox River * Salt Creek
* North Fork Embarras River * Little Embarras River
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- Little Vermilion River
- Vermilion River
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* Middle Fork Vermilion River * Salt Fork Vermilion River ** Saline Branch *** Boneyard Creek
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- Cache River: Known for its beautiful wetlands and cypress trees.
- Big Muddy River
- Beaucoup Creek
- Little Muddy River
- Casey Creek (Casey Fork)
- Marys River
- Kaskaskia River: This river flows through central and southern Illinois.
- Palmer Creek
- Wood River
- Illinois River: One of the most important rivers in the state, connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.
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- Big Bureau Creek
- Little Vermilion River
- Vermilion River
- Rooks Creek
- Fox River: A popular river for recreation in northern Illinois.
- Mazon River
- Des Plaines River: This river flows through the Chicago area.
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- Buffalo Creek
- Hickory Creek
- Kankakee River
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- Henderson Creek
- Edwards River
- Rock River: A major river in northern Illinois.
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* Owens Creek * East Branch South Branch Kishwaukee River
Rivers Flowing to the Gulf of St. Lawrence
A small part of Illinois, mainly around Chicago, is in a different drainage basin. Rivers here flow into Lake Michigan, which is one of the Great Lakes. From Lake Michigan, the water eventually flows through other lakes and rivers, like the St. Lawrence River, all the way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Lake Michigan
- Waukegan River
- Chicago River: This famous river flows through downtown Chicago. It was even reversed by engineers over 100 years ago to improve sanitation!
- North Branch Chicago River
- South Branch Chicago River
- Bubbly Creek or South Fork South Branch Chicago River
- Calumet River
- Grand Calumet River
- Little Calumet River
- Midlothian Creek
- Thorn Creek
Rivers in Alphabetical Order
This list helps you find a specific river quickly if you know its name.
- Addison Creek
- Apple River
- Beaucoup Creek
- Beaver Creek
- Big Bureau Creek
- Big Muddy River
- Boneyard Creek
- Bonpas Creek
- Bubbly Creek
- Buffalo Creek
- Butterfield Creek
- Cache River
- Calumet River
- Casey Creek, also known as Casey Fork
- Chicago River
- Coon Creek
- Cypress Creek
- Des Plaines River
- DuPage River
- East Branch South Branch Kishwaukee River
- Edwards River
- Elm River
- Embarras River (Illinois)
- Fox River (Illinois River tributary), northern Illinois
- Fox River (Little Wabash tributary), southern Illinois
- Galena River
- Grand Calumet River
- Green River
- Henderson Creek
- Hickory Creek
- Illinois River
- Indian Creek
- Iroquois River
- Jackson Creek
- Kankakee River
- Kaskaskia River
- Killbuck Creek
- Kishwaukee River
- Kyte River
- La Moine River
- Leaf River
- Lick Creek
- Little Calumet River
- Little Embarras River
- Little Mackinaw River
- Little Marys River
- Little Menominee River
- Little Muddy River
- Little Vermilion River (Illinois River tributary)
- Little Vermilion River (Wabash River tributary)
- Little Wabash River
- Lusk Creek
- Mackinaw River
- Macoupin Creek
- Marys River
- Mazon River
- Menominee River
- Middle Fork Vermilion River
- Mississippi River
- Mokeler Creek
- North Branch Chicago River
- North Branch Kishwaukee River
- North Fork Embarras River
- Ohio River
- Owens Creek
- Palmer Creek (Columbia, IL)
- Panther Creek (Mackinaw watershed)
- Pecatonica River
- Pine Creek
- Piscasaw Creek
- Plum River
- Red River
- Rock Creek
- Rock River
- Rush Creek
- Saline Branch
- Saline River
- Salt Creek (Des Plaines River tributary)
- Salt Creek (Little Wabash River tributary)
- Salt Creek (Sangamon River tributary)
- Salt Fork Vermilion River
- Sangamon River
- Shoal Creek
- Sinsinawa River
- Skillet Fork
- Skokie River
- Somonauk Creek
- South Branch Chicago River
- South Branch Kishwaukee River
- Spoon River
- Stillman Creek
- Sugar Creek
- Sugar River
- Thorn Creek
- Tyler Creek, (not to be confused with a creek of the same in Oregon)
- Vermilion River (Illinois River tributary)
- Vermilion River (Wabash River tributary)
- Wabash River
- West Okaw River
- Wood River
- Yellow Creek
See Also
