North Shore Channel | |
---|---|
The North Shore Channel near the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois | |
Specifications | |
Length | 7.7 miles (12.4 km) |
Navigation authority | Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago |
History | |
Date completed | 1910 |
Geography | |
Start point | Lake Michigan in Wilmette, Illinois |
End point | North Branch Chicago River in Chicago, Illinois |
Branch of | North Branch Chicago River |
The North Shore Channel is a drainage canal built between 1907 and 1910 to flush the sewage-filled North Branch of the Chicago River down the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. [1] The sewage carrying duty has been largely taken over by the Chicago Deep Tunnel, but there are still occasional discharges due to heavy rains. [2]
The North Shore Channel, a component of the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), flows from Lake Michigan, near the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, to the North Branch of the Chicago River in Chicago. [3]
The channel begins at the Wilmette Pumping Station, where sluice gates are generally used to provide for a consistent water level in the channel by controlling water diversion from Lake Michigan, although the gates are opened during severe storm weather conditions to allow the channel to backflow into the lake in order to prevent downstream flooding. [1] From the pumping station, the channel flows southwest, and then south, through or near Wilmette, Evanston, Skokie, and Lincolnwood, and into Chicago. The south end of the channel flows into the North Branch at approximately 5100 north and 3000 west in the Chicago street-address numbering system. A concrete low head dam, 82 feet (25 m) in width and 8 feet (2.4 m) in height, was constructed at the confluence of the channel and river in 1910, creating Chicago's only waterfall within the city limits. [4] [5] Because the water surface of the North Shore Channel would be 4 feet (1.2 m) lower than that of the river's, the dam was built to prevent the river from eroding its banks upstream of the confluence due to the difference in the water surface elevations. [5]
However, the dam exacerbated existing problems of stagnant water flows and ponding on the North Branch for decades, despite multiple modifications to the dam and dredging of the river. [5] The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) would eventually solve those issues along the North Branch, and starting in July 2018, the Army Corps of Engineers removed the dam, replacing it with a series of riffle pools, which allow fish to swim upstream. [6] [7] [8]
Surrounded by parks and steep, wooded banks, and the 18-hole Canal Shores Golf Course in parts of Wilmette and Evanston, the canal provides a corridor for local wildlife. [5]
In 1999, the system of which the canal is a part was named a Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium (as part of the Chicago wastewater system) by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). [9]
Since the water quality improvement, fishing has become possible in the Channel. [10] Bass and crappie are abundant, especially at the confluence of the Channel and the North Branch of the Chicago River, where the waterfall aerates the water. [11] Canoeing and kayaking are allowed, with several put-in points along the length. [12]
In recent years the Channel has also become a popular rowing venue. It is home to the Chicago Rowing Foundation and the Loyola Academy and New Trier High School teams. The Channel is a great place for rowing due to its high banks that act as a shelter from the wind. The northern part of the Channel has hosted the University of Wisconsin and Syracuse University men's rowing teams for dual meets in 2016 and 2019.
In addition to water navigation, both walking and biking paths follow along nearly the entire length of the Channel. [13] The Evanston-Wilmette Community Golf Course ("Canal Shores") plays along a stretch of the Channel of about 1 mile (1.6 km), and two par-3 holes play across it. [14]
The North Shore Channel Trail is a multi-use trail that starts at Lincoln Square near West Lawrence Avenue and North Francisco Avenue and stops in Evanston at Green Bay Road. Proposals are being considered to complete the final mile and a half of the trail, which would connect the path to Gillson Park at the Wilmette lakefront. [15]
Several recent improvements were completed in 2019, including the Lincoln Village Pedestrian Bicycle Bridge and just past where the channel merges with the north branch of the Chicago River, the 312 RiverRun and its Riverview Bridge. [16] [17] Other attractions along the trail include the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park, which boasts over 60 large sculptures along the channel, [18] the Evanston Ecology Center, and the Ladd Arboretum. As of July 2023, construction has begun on a skate park at Twiggs Park along the trail. [19] [20]
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of 156 miles (251 km) that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center. Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chicago Portage is a link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico.
Lincolnwood is a village in Niles Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 13,463. An inner suburb of Chicago, it shares its southern, eastern, and a small section of its western boundary with Chicago, also bordering Skokie to the north and west.
Skokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Skokie's population, according to the 2020 census, is 67,824. Skokie lies approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of Chicago's downtown Loop. The name Skokie comes from a Potawatomi word for "marsh". For many years, Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Skokie's streets, like that of many suburbs, are largely a continuation of the Chicago street grid, and the village is served by the Chicago Transit Authority, further cementing its connection to the city.
Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located 14 miles (23 km) north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 28,170 at the 2020 census. The first and only Baháʼí House of Worship in North America is located here. Wilmette is also home to Central Elementary School and Romona Elementary School, both recent recipients of the National Blue Ribbon award bestowed by the U.S. Department of Education.
The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the former flowing west from Indiana into Illinois, then turning back east to its mouth at Lake Michigan at Marquette Park in Gary. Now the system is part of the Chicago Area Waterway System and through the use of locks flows away from Lake Michigan to the Cal-Sag Channel.
The Grand River is a 252-mile-long (406 km) river in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The longest river in Michigan, the Grand River rises in Hillsdale County, and flows in a generally northwesterly direction to its mouth at Lake Michigan in the city of Grand Haven. The river flows through a number of cities, including Jackson, Lansing, Ionia, and Grand Rapids.
The Purple Line of the Chicago "L" is a 3.9-mile (6.3 km) route on the northernmost section of the system. The service normally begins from Linden in Wilmette and ends at Howard on Chicago's north border, passing through the city of Evanston.
Lincoln Square on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the city's 77 community areas. It encompasses the smaller neighborhoods of Ravenswood, Ravenswood Gardens, Bowmanville, Budlong Woods as well as Lincoln Square itself.
The North Shore consists of many affluent suburbs north of Chicago, Illinois, bordering the shores of Lake Michigan. These communities fall within suburban Cook County and Lake County. The North Shore's membership is often a topic of debate, and it includes some Chicago suburbs which do not border Lake Michigan. However, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Highwood, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glencoe, Northbrook, Northfield, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Wilmette, Golf, Glenview, Niles, Morton Grove, Skokie, and Evanston, are generally considered to be the main constituents of the North Shore.
The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, also known as the North Shore Line, was an interurban railroad that operated passenger and freight service over an 88.9-mile (143.1 km) route between the Chicago Loop and downtown Milwaukee, as well as an 8.6-mile (13.8 km) branch line between the villages of Lake Bluff and Mundelein, Illinois. The North Shore Line also provided streetcar, city bus and motor coach services along its interurban route.
The Malden River is a 2.3-mile-long (3.7 km) river in Malden, Medford, and Everett, Massachusetts. It is roughly 675 feet (206 m) wide at its widest point and is very narrow at its smallest point. Its banks are largely occupied by industrial business, and the river is scarcely used or even mentioned. Its water quality is worse than most local waters, including the Mystic River, into which it flows. The Mystic River Watershed Association is working and creating educational programs to help the environment.The Friends of the Malden River organize clean-up events.
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages land containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes. These land holdings are primarily managed as undeveloped natural areas and for outdoor recreation. The Forest Preserve District encompasses approximately 70,000 acres of land or approximately 11% of the land in Cook County, which contains the city of Chicago and is the most densely populated urban metropolitan area in the Midwest. The Forest Preserves also owns the lands on which the Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Botanic Garden operate.
The Skokie River is a 20-mile-long (32 km) river that flows through the northern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. It flows almost parallel to the shore of Lake Michigan, and historically discharged its outflow into that lake via the Chicago River. However, the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900 caused the drainage of the Chicago River, including its Skokie River tributary, to flow southwestward towards the Mississippi River.
Skokie Lagoons is a nature preserve in Glencoe and Winnetka, Illinois, owned and managed by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The park is bordered by Dundee Road to the north, Forestway Drive to the east, Willow Road to the south, and the Edens Expressway to the west. Within the park, there are seven inter-connected lagoons totaling 190 acres (0.77 km2). Water flows southward from the Chicago Botanic Garden through the lagoons to the Skokie River. The overall water level in the lagoons is controlled by the main control dam at Willow Road. Three low dams keep the water levels below the inner islands. Recreational opportunities at Skokie Lagoons include biking, fishing, boating, and birding.
The Green Bay Trail is a rails with trails built on the former Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad. It runs parallel to Metra's Union Pacific / North Line for nearly nine miles from Wilmette, Illinois, to Highland Park, Illinois. It was originally a path used by various users between the Chicago area and the Green Bay, Wisconsin, area.
NorthShore University HealthSystem is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving patients throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
Glenview Creek flows on the eastern side of Glenview, Illinois, in the County of Cook. It now originates just south of Glenview Road and alongside the abandoned Skokie Subdivision of the Union Pacific Railroad right of way. Glenview Creek flows in a west by southwest direction for approximately 3/4 of a mile to where it enters the Middle Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River in Harms Woods.
Canal Shores Golf Course, is an 82-acre, 18-hole, par 60 golf course located in a suburban residential neighborhood on the east side of Evanston, Illinois and Wilmette, Illinois. Founded in 1919 on the banks of the North Shore Channel of the Chicago River, the course is 3,904 yards in length, featuring a narrow and tree-lined fairway and two over-the-water holes. Eleven of the holes are located in Evanston, Illinois and 7 holes are in Wilmette, Illinois.
The Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) is a complex of natural and artificial waterways extending through much of the Chicago metropolitan area, covering approximately 87 miles altogether. It straddles the Chicago Portage and is the sole navigable inland link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River and makes up the northern end of the Illinois Waterway.
The Lakeshore Corridor is the area around the Edens Expressway and Tri-State Tollway, in the northern suburbs of Chicago, including the affluent North Shore suburbs. It is home to many shopping centers, healthcare facilities, hotels, and other amenities.
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