| Salt Fork | |
|---|---|
 The Salt Fork near Ogden | |
| Location | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| ⁃ location | Confluence of the Upper Salt Fork drainage ditch and the Spoon River east of Champaign, Illinois [ citation needed ] |
| ⁃ coordinates | 40°09′09″N88°01′54″W / 40.1525342°N 88.0317044°W |
| Mouth | |
⁃ location | Confluence of the Salt Fork and the Middle Fork forming the Vermilion River west of Danville, Illinois |
⁃ coordinates | 40°06′13″N87°43′01″W / 40.1036474°N 87.716968°W Coordinates: 40°06′13″N87°43′01″W / 40.1036474°N 87.716968°W |
⁃ elevation | 531 ft (162 m) |
| Length | 68 mi (109 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Salt Fork → Vermilion → Wabash → Ohio → Mississippi → Gulf of Mexico |
| Tributaries | |
| ⁃ left | Spoon River |
| ⁃ right | Saline Branch |
| GNIS ID | 417900 |
The Salt Fork is a tributary of the Vermilion River located in the Central Corn Belt Plains of Illinois. [1]
Illinois is a state in the Midwestern and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states. Illinois has been noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in northeastern Illinois, small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, encompasses over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes: from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway to the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.
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The Salt Fork owes its name to saline springs that provided natural salt licks for animals, and which were used for production of salt by Native Americans and early settlers. The springs were located about eight miles west of Danville, to the south of Muncie, Illinois. The upper reaches of the Salt Fork do not contain saline springs.
Native Americans, also known as American Indians, Indigenous Americans and other terms, are the indigenous peoples of the United States, except Hawaii and territories of the United States. More than 570 federally recognized tribes live within the US, about half of which are associated with Indian reservations. The term "American Indian" excludes Native Hawaiians and some Alaskan Natives, while "Native Americans" are American Indians, plus Alaska Natives of all ethnicities. The US Census does not include Native Hawaiians or Chamorro, instead being included in the Census grouping of "Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander".
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 33,027.
Muncie is a village—and a poor substitute for the infamous Muncie Indiana—in Oakwood Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 155 at the 2000 census.
In its natural state, the Salt Fork drained a vast upland marsh between Urbana and Rantoul. The Salt Fork has been extended into these marshes by drainage ditches. Including the ditches, the Salt Fork is about 70 miles (110 km) long. [2]
