Calumet River

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Calumet River
LOOKING NORTH AT MAIN SPAN, FROM 100TH STREET BRIDGE.jpg
The Calumet River, with the Chicago Skyway traversing it
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • location Confluence of the Little Calumet and the Grand Calumet, Chicago
 • coordinates 41°38′38″N87°33′39″W / 41.6438889°N 87.5608333°W / 41.6438889; -87.5608333 (Calumet River origin)
 • elevation581 ft (177 m)
Mouth  
 • location
 Confluence with Lake Michigan, Chicago
 • coordinates
 41°43′58″N87°31′46″W / 41.7327778°N 87.5294444°W / 41.7327778; -87.5294444 (Calumet River mouth)
 • elevation
574 ft (175 m)
Basin features
ProgressionCalumet River → Lake Michigan → Great Lakes → Saint Lawrence Seaway → Gulf of Saint Lawrence
GNIS ID 405379
Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

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. [1] 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.

Contents

Background

The name "Calumet" is from the French colonial name for a particular type of Native American ceremonial pipe that served as a universal sign of peace among the Illiniwek, and which was presented to Pere Marquette in 1673. [2]

Before human alteration, water flowed westward from LaPorte County, Indiana, along the Little Calumet River, made a hairpin turn at Blue Island, and flowed east along the Grand Calumet into Lake Michigan at the Miller Beach community of Gary, Indiana. [1] The area is extremely flat and the course and even the direction of the river system has changed repeatedly. The low gradient gives the river only a very small current.

Industrial development in the Calumet River area began around the 1870s, and by 1890 the western reach of the Grand Calumet River was heavily polluted with the waste of steel mills, foundries, a meat packing plant, and glue and cornstarch factories. Industry continued to spread along the eastern reach of the river between 1890 and 1910, with similar results. These decades of unrestricted pollution have left the river sediments highly contaminated to this day. [3]

In September 2008, areas of Lake and Porter County, Indiana, were declared national disaster areas. The Little Calumet River breached its levee and flooded portions of the towns of Munster and Highland, Indiana. In September 2019, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal notified Indiana officials of a toxic spill from its Burns Harbor steel mill had spilled into a branch of the Little Calumet River, resulting in short-term closures of three Lake Michigan beaches. [4]

Segments of the Calumet River system

Map of area rivers ChicagoRiver.svg
Map of area rivers

Calumet River

The Calumet River, on the south side of Chicago, originally simply drained Lake Calumet to Lake Michigan. A canal extending it, legendarily claimed to have been created by voyageurs at the site of a frequent portage, was dug connecting the two Calumet Rivers at the point where the name now changes from Grand to Little.

The T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam was installed across the river in 1960 to control the movement of water between Lake Michigan and the river. [5]

Grand Calumet River

The Grand Calumet River, originating in Miller Beach, flows 16.0 miles (25.7 km) [6] through the cities of Gary, East Chicago and Hammond, as well as Calumet City and Burnham on the Illinois side. The majority of the river's flow drains into Lake Michigan via the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, sending about 1,500 cubic feet (42 m3) per second of water into the lake. Today, a large portion of the river's flow originates as municipal and industrial effluent, cooling and process water and storm water overflows. Although discharges have been reduced, a number of contaminants continue to impair the area.

Little Calumet River

Residents boat through floodwaters of the Little Calumet in Munster in September 2008 Residents boat down a main street in Munster, IN.jpg
Residents boat through floodwaters of the Little Calumet in Munster in September 2008

The Little Calumet River originally flowed from New Durham Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, to its junction with the Grand Calumet and Calumet rivers. Construction of the Portage Burns Waterway (Burns Ditch) in 1926 split the direction of flow of the Little Calumet River, at Hart Ditch, east of which it flows into Lake Michigan at the Port of Indiana Burns International Harbor. [7] [8] The confluence with Hart Ditch is located west of US-41 in North Township, Lake County. The Burns Ditch channelized the path of the Little Calumet River from its confluence with Deep River, at Three Rivers County Park, to the Port of Indiana by cutting through the Indiana Dunes. Three Rivers County Park is located on the border of Gary and Lake Station where I-65 meets the Borman Expressway.

Map of the watershed of the Little Calumet River, differentiating drainage to the Calumet River/Cal-Sag Canal and to Lake Michigan via the Portage Burns Waterway, Little Calumet River watershed map.png
Map of the watershed of the Little Calumet River, differentiating drainage to the Calumet River/Cal-Sag Canal and to Lake Michigan via the Portage Burns Waterway,

East of the Burns Ditch the river is called the East Arm Little Calumet River, west of the Burns ditch it is named Little Calumet River. The Little Calumet River flows through or borders the towns of Portage, Lake Station, Gary, Highland, Griffith, Munster, and Hammond, then through South Holland, Dolton, Lansing, Calumet City, Harvey, Riverdale, Phoenix, Dixmoor, Burnham, and Blue Island in Illinois, connecting to the Cal-Sag Channel and at the junction of the Grand Calumet River and Calumet River. This arm of the river is 41 miles (66 km) long. [6] The Little Calumet has 109 miles (175 km) of river and tributaries and drains 213 square miles (550 km2). [9] The major tributaries are Deep River and its Turkey Creek sub-tributary, and the Salt Creek tributary of the East Arm Little Calumet River. Each tributary originates on the Valparaiso Moraine and flows north to the Little Calumet River. [1]

The East Arm Little Calumet River, also known as the Little Calumet River East Branch begins just east of Holmesville in New Durham Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, and also flows through Chesterton, Porter, and Burns Harbor where it connects to the Port of Indiana-Burns Waterway. [10] It has a total length of 22 miles (35 km). [6] It used to continue westward to Illinois as the Little Calumet River, but construction of the Burns Waterway in 1926 diverted its flow into Lake Michigan. [7]

Until sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s, the Little Calumet River was heavily polluted with sewage, and the only fish living in the river were carp. During heavy spring rains, the river would often flood areas adjacent to the river.

The Little Calumet River has been undergoing construction of a $200 million flood control and recreation project by the Chicago District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 1990. The project was expected to be complete in 2013. The project includes construction of 22 miles (35 km) of levees and floodwalls, a control structure at Hart Ditch, and almost 17 miles (27 km) of hiking trails. Additionally, seven miles (11 km) of the river channel is being relocated to allow better water flow, and highway bridges are being modified to permit unobstructed flow of water. A flood warning system is also being implemented. When complete, the project will protect over 9,500 homes and businesses in the towns of Gary, Griffith, Highland, Hammond, and Munster in Indiana, and prevent nearly $11 million in flood damage annually. On September 15, 2008, the remnants of Hurricane Ike released heavy rain which flooded the banks of the Little Calumet River. Houses and strip malls in northern Munster and southern Hammond were evacuated. Hundreds of homes were damaged due to flooding. Recently, a new levee, along Northcote Avenue in Munster, is being built to protect residents from future floods. [11]

Cal-Sag Channel

Calumet Sag Channel, Blue Island Calumet Sag Channel, Blue Island, Illinois on Approach to Chicago Midway Airport (7238214038) (cropped).jpg
Calumet Sag Channel, Blue Island

The Cal-Sag Channel (short for "Calumet-Saganashkee Channel") is a navigation canal in southern Cook County, Illinois. It serves as a channel between the Little Calumet River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. It is 16 miles (26 km) long and was dug over an 11-year period, from 1911 until 1922.

The Cal-Sag Channel serves barge traffic in what was an active zone of heavy industry in the far southern neighborhoods of the city of Chicago and adjacent suburbs. As of 2006 it was also used more as a conduit for wastewater from southern Cook County, including the Chicago-area Deep Tunnel Project, into the Illinois Waterway. It is also used by pleasure crafts in the summer time.

The western 4.5 miles (7.3 km) of the channel flow through the Palos Forest Preserves, a collection of protected County Forest Preserves operated by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

The Cal-Sag Channel served as the rowing venue for the 1959 Pan American Games. [12]

When it is completed, the Calumet-Sag Trail, a 26-miles-long (41 km) greenway, will border the channel and will stretch from the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to the Burnham Greenway.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal</span>

The Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is an artificial waterway on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, in East Chicago, Indiana, which connects the Grand Calumet River to Lake Michigan. It consists of two branch canals, the 1.25 miles (2.01 km) Lake George Branch and the 2 miles (3.2 km) long Grand Calumet River Branch which join to form the main Indiana Harbor Canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal</span> Canal system connecting the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers in Illinois

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Arm Little Calumet River</span> River in Indiana, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt Creek (Little Calumet River tributary)</span> River in Indiana, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sag Bridge, Illinois</span> Unincorporated community in Illinois, United States

Sag Bridge, Illinois is an Unincorporated community in Lemont Township in southwestern Cook County, Illinois, United States. Sag Bridge is an important waterway junction between the Calumet Sag Channel and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. It is also the junction of IL 83 and IL 171 which meet at Sag Bridge to cross the Calumet Sag Channel together on the eponymous bridge. The community was named for a predecessor of the present bridge. It is within the village limits and postal delivery zone of Lemont, Illinois.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Calumet River</span> River in Illinois, United States

The Grand Calumet River is a 13.0-mile-long (20.9 km) river that flows primarily into Lake Michigan. Originating in Miller Beach in Gary, it flows through the cities of Gary, East Chicago and Hammond, as well as Calumet City and Burnham on the Illinois side. The majority of the river's flow drains into Lake Michigan via the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, sending about 1,500 cubic feet (42 m3) per second of water into the lake. A smaller part of the flow, at the river's western end, enters the Calumet River, and through the Illinois ultimately drains into the Mississippi River.

The Calumet Feeder Canal was a short canal in Illinois, operated during the mid-19th century. It connected the Little Calumet River to the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal, and ran from Blue Island, where the Little Calumet made a hairpin turn toward Lake Michigan, to meet the I&M canal at Sag Bridge. The canal was completed in 1849, and covered 16.75 miles (26.96 km). It was one of four feeder canals built for the I&M, the others being the Du Page Feeder, Fox River Feeder and Kankakee Feeder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam</span> Dam in Hegewisch, Chicago

Thomas J. O'Brien Lock & Dam is a stop lock in the Hegewisch neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago at the confluence of the Grand Calumet River and Little Calumet River, which form the Calumet River. It is a component of the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), which is, itself, a part of the Illinois Waterway, which links the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.

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

Deep River is a river that flows 29.5 miles (47.5 km) northeast to the Little Calumet River in Lake County in northern Indiana in the United States. It is part of a fluvial system that drains about 10% of northern Indiana to Lake Michigan at Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Little Calumet River Watershed Management Plan (PDF) (Report). Indiana Department of Environmental Management. 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Definition of CALUMET". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  3. ↑ Project Management Plan Archived 2007-12-03 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Hawthorne, Michael. "Toxic spill from northwest Indiana steel mill kills fish, forces closure of Lake Michigan beaches". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  5. ↑ Thomas J. O’Brien Lock & Dam. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine , accessed May 19, 2011
  7. 1 2 State of Indiana Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program Environmental Assessment (PDF) (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. September 2007. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  8. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Calumet River
  9. ↑ Our Community & Flooding – Federal Programs Archived 2006-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: East Arm Little Calumet River
  11. ↑ USACE Chicago Dist – Little Calumet River Home Archived 2007-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Lyke, Bill (29 August 1959). "Drive Out to the Pan-Am Gamnes!". Chicago Tribune. pp. B1. ProQuest   182386533.
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