Big Blue Island

Last updated March 14, 2019

Big Blue Island is an uninhabited fluvial island in the Illinois River. Approximately 1.5 mile (2.4 km) long, it is legally part of Detroit Township and Flint Township within Pike County in the U.S. state of Illinois.^[1] The mud island is operated for game management purposes as part of the Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area, although the larger part of the state hunting area is across the river at Griggsville Landing. The island, located at Mile 58 on the Illinois River, is separated by a narrow side channel from adjacent Scott County.^[2]

A river island is any exposed land surrounded by river water. Properly defined it excludes shoals between seasonally varying flows and may exclude semi-coastal islands such as in deltas.

The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 273 miles (439 km) long, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of 28,756.6 square miles (74,479 km²). The drainage basin extends into Wisconsin, Indiana, and a very small area of southwestern Michigan. This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route connecting the Great Lakes with the Mississippi. The French colonial settlements along the rivers formed the heart of the area known as the Illinois Country. After the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Hennepin Canal in the 19th century, the role of the river as link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi was extended into the era of modern industrial shipping. It now forms the basis for the Illinois Waterway.

Detroit Township is located in Pike County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 312 and it contained 163 housing units.

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Vermilion County is a county in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois, between the Indiana border and Champaign County. It was established in 1826 and was the 45th of Illinois' 102 counties. According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 81,625, a decrease of 2.7% in 2000. It contains 21 incorporated settlements; the county seat and largest city is Danville.

Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 147,546. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring Moline.

Border irregularities of the United States, particularly panhandles and highway incursions into other jurisdictions, are shown here. Often they are a result of borders which do not conform to geological features.

Griggsville Landing, also known as Phillips Landing or Phillips Ferry, was located in Flint Township, just south of Valley City, Illinois. It is a former town site on the Illinois River in Pike County. The town was a steamboat stop which began sometime in the 1830s. There was a lime kiln there that was part of a commercial lime operation prior to post-Civil War industrial intensification in the lime industry. The town at Griggsville Landing was home to a boat yard, a grist mill and a hotel in addition to the Griggsville Landing Lime Kiln, built around 1850, which is still standing as of 2007. The town was eventually abandoned, rendering it a ghost town. Griggsville Landing is adjacent to the Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area.

Naperville Township is one of nine townships in DuPage County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 100,019 and it contained 39,999 housing units.

Colona Township is one of twenty-four townships in Henry County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 6,822 and it contained 2,773 housing units. Colona Township changed its name from Green River Township on April 13, 1857.

Derry Township is located in Pike County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 247 and it contained 115 housing units.

Hadley Township is located in Pike County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 262 and it contained 130 housing units.

Ross Township is located in Pike County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 70 and it contained 54 housing units. Ross originally formed as Spring Lake Township from a portion of Atlas Township in July, 1879, but changed its name to Ross shortly after the formation with the exact date unknown.

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Patterson Township is one of thirteen townships in Greene County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 636 and it contained 282 housing units.

Walkerville Township is one of thirteen townships in Greene County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 233 and it contained 111 housing units.

Woodville Township is one of thirteen townships in Greene County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 239 and it contained 128 housing units.

Decatur Township is located in Macon County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 52,915 and it contained 24,918 housing units.

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Grand Tower Island is a river island in the Mississippi River in the midwestern United States, within the state of Missouri on its border with the state of Illinois. Formed within recorded history by the movement of the river, it consists of a bulge-shaped piece of land between the river's primary channel and an oxbow lake. Land on the island is generally valuable for farming, especially when protected from flooding, while the lake has developed a reputation as a valuable sport-fishing location.

McEvers Island is an uninhabited fluvial island in the Illinois River. Approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) long, it is legally part of Montezuma Township within Pike County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The island, at Mile 48.5, is often used as a landmark by commercial and pleasure boaters traversing the river. Boaters often anchor or tie up in the narrow, sheltered channel east of the island, bordering the Scott County Illinois mainland.

References

↑ Illinois Atlas and Gazetteer. Freeport, Maine: DeLorme Mapping. 1991. ISBN 0-89933-213-7.
↑ Lerczak, Thomas V. (n.d.). "Side Channel at Big Blue Island". theriverlanding.typepad.com. Side Channels. Retrieved January 6, 2018. Big Blue Island is in the lower Illinois River, about 58 miles upstream from the Mississippi River.

Coordinates: 39°39′40″N90°37′30″W / 39.661°N 90.625°W / 39.661; -90.625

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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[DeLorme-1] Illinois Atlas and Gazetteer. Freeport, Maine: DeLorme Mapping. 1991. ISBN 0-89933-213-7.

[Lerczak-2] Lerczak, Thomas V. (n.d.). "Side Channel at Big Blue Island". theriverlanding.typepad.com. Side Channels. Retrieved January 6, 2018. Big Blue Island is in the lower Illinois River, about 58 miles upstream from the Mississippi River.