Salt Fork Vermilion River

Last updated
Salt Fork
Salt Fork.jpg
The Salt Fork near Ogden
Salt Fork Vermilion River
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 / 40.1525342; -88.0317044 (Salt Fork Vermilion River origin)
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 / 40.1036474; -87.716968 (Salt Fork Vermilion River mouth)
  elevation
531 ft (162 m)
Length68 mi (109 km)
Basin features
ProgressionSalt Fork → VermilionWabashOhioMississippiGulf of Mexico
Tributaries 
  leftSpoon River
  right Saline Branch
GNIS ID 417900
Saline Branch of the Salt Fork in Crystal Lake Park in Urbana SalineBranch.JPG
Saline Branch of the Salt Fork in Crystal Lake Park in Urbana

The Salt Fork is a tributary of the Vermilion River located in the Central Corn Belt Plains of Illinois. [1]

Contents

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.

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]

Parks and access points

Cities and towns

The following cities, towns and villages are in the Salt Fork watershed:

Counties

The following counties are in the Salt Fork watershed:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermilion County, Illinois</span> County in Illinois, United States

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 2020 United States census, it had a population of 74,188. It contains 21 incorporated settlements; the county seat and largest city is Danville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champaign County, Illinois</span> County in Illinois, United States

Champaign County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 205,865, making it the 10th-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Urbana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Joseph River (Maumee River tributary)</span> River in the upper midwest, United States

The St. Joseph River is an 86.1-mile-long (138.6 km) tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States, with headwater tributaries rising in southern Michigan. It drains a primarily rural farming region in the watershed of Lake Erie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paria River</span> American river, northeast Arizona, east border of Paria Plateau

The Paria River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 95 miles (153 km) long, in southern Utah and northern Arizona in the United States. It drains a rugged and arid region northwest of the Colorado, flowing through roadless slot canyons along part of its course.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaskaskia River</span> River in the United States

The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 325 miles (523 km) long, in central and southern Illinois in the United States. The second largest river system within Illinois, it drains a rural area of farms, as well as rolling hills along river bottoms of hardwood forests in its lower reaches. The lower reaches of the river have been canalized to allow barge traffic. In 1819, Vandalia up the river in the interior of the then new state of Illinois was chosen as its capital, which it served as until 1839.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermilion River (Wabash River tributary)</span> River in the United States

The Vermilion River is a tributary of the Wabash River in the states of Illinois and Indiana, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt Creek (Des Plaines River tributary)</span> River

Salt Creek is a 43.4-mile-long (69.8 km) stream in northeastern Illinois. It is an important tributary of the Des Plaines River, part of the Illinois River and ultimately the Mississippi River watersheds. It rises in northwest Cook County at Wilke Marsh in Palatine and flows in a meandering course generally southward through DuPage County, returning to central Cook County and emptying into the Des Plaines River in Riverside, Illinois. Most of the creek's watershed is urbanized, densely populated and flood-prone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iroquois River (Indiana-Illinois)</span> River in the United States

The Iroquois River is a 103-mile-long (166 km) tributary of the Kankakee River in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. It was named for the Iroquois people. Via the Kankakee and Illinois rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackinaw River</span> River

The Mackinaw River is a 130-mile-long (210 km) tributary of the Illinois River in the U.S. state of Illinois. Its watershed covers approximately 1,136 square miles (3,000 km2), and contains some of the most productive agricultural land in the United States. The river itself maintains some of the highest quality streams in the state and provides habitat for 60-70 native fish species and 25-30 species of mussels. Its name, also spelled Mackinac, is derived from the Ojibwe word mikinaak meaning "turtle".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embarras River (Illinois)</span> River in Illinois, United States

The Embarras River is a 195-mile-long (314 km) tributary of the Wabash River in southeastern Illinois in the United States. The waters of the Embarras reach the Gulf of Mexico via the Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers. The river drains a watershed around 1,566,450 acres (6,339.2 km2) in an agricultural region. It arises near Champaign-Urbana and flows south to near Vincennes, Indiana. The name comes from French explorers, who used the French word, embarras, for river navigation obstacles, blockages, and difficulties relating to logjams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saline River (Illinois)</span> River in Illinois, United States

The Saline River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 27 miles (43 km) long, in the Southern Illinois region of the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of southeast Illinois, with a drainage basin of 1,762 square miles (4,564 km2). The major tributaries include the South Fork, Middle Fork and North Fork, all lying within the Saline Valley. The once meandering swampy river was important among Native Americans and early settlers as a source of salt from numerous salt springs where it was commercially extracted in the early 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boneyard Creek</span> Creek in Illinois, U.S.

Boneyard Creek is a 3.3-mile-long (5.3 km) waterway that drains much of the cities of Champaign and Urbana, Illinois, United States. It is a tributary of the Saline Branch of the Salt Fork Vermilion River, which is a tributary of the south-flowing Vermilion River and the Wabash River. The creek flows through the northern sections of the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The newsletter of the university's ACM chapter is Banks of the Boneyard, named after the creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermilion River (Illinois River tributary)</span> River

The Vermilion River is a 74.8-mile-long (120.4 km) tributary of the Illinois River in the state of Illinois, United States. The river flows north, in contrast to a second Vermilion River in Illinois, which flows south to the Wabash River. The Illinois and Wabash rivers each have a tributary named the Little Vermilion River as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Fork Vermilion River</span> River in Illinois, United States

The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River is a tributary of the Vermilion River in Illinois. The Middle Fork rises in Ford County and flows southeast to join the Vermilion near Danville.

Macoupin Creek is a 99.7-mile-long (160.5 km) tributary of the Illinois River, which it joins near the village of Hardin, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Okaw River</span> River

The West Okaw River is a tributary of the Kaskaskia River, which it joins in Moultrie County, Illinois. The West Okaw forms an arm of Lake Shelbyville where the natural rivers used to meet.

Salt Creek is a major tributary to the Sangamon River, which it joins at the boundary between Mason and Menard County, Illinois. There are at least two other Salt Creeks in Illinois, Salt Creek, and in Effingham County, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urbana Township, Champaign County, Illinois</span> Township in Illinois, United States

Urbana Township is a township in Champaign County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,556 and it contained 3,463 housing units.

Kickapoo State Recreation Area is an Illinois state park on 2,842 acres (1,150 ha) in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. Located between Oakwood, Illinois and Danville, Illinois, this park is easily accessible through route I-74. It is 28 miles (45 km) away from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and 95 miles (153 km) from Indianapolis. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the name Kickapoo originated from the Kickapoo village that once existed near the junction of the Salt Fork and Middle Fork branches of the Vermilion River. After Europeans settled in the area and displaced the Native Americans, the Europeans began to dig wells to harvest salt from salt springs, called salines. In the early 20th century the land was then strip-mined for coal. Kickapoo State Park was the first park in the United States to be located on strip-mined land. The state of Illinois purchased the Kickapoo State Park Area in 1939 with donation money from Danville residents and the land has since recovered from the extraction of these resources.

The Saline Branch, or Saline Branch Ditch, is a tributary of the Vermilion River in east central Illinois. It drains a parcel of east-central Champaign County, including most of the city of Urbana, Illinois and the University of Illinois campus within Urbana.

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Salt Fork
  2. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 19, 2011