Middle Fork Vermilion River | |
---|---|
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Confluence of a drainage ditch and Prairie Creek in Ford County southeast of Paxton, Illinois |
• coordinates | 40°24′15″N88°01′05″W / 40.4042016°N 88.0180938°W |
Mouth | |
• location | Confluence with the Salt Fork forming the Vermilion River west of Danville, Illinois |
• coordinates | 40°06′13″N87°43′02″W / 40.1036474°N 87.7172458°W Coordinates: 40°06′13″N87°43′02″W / 40.1036474°N 87.7172458°W |
• elevation | 535 ft (163 m) |
Length | 77 mi (124 km) |
Discharge | |
• location | Oakwood, Illinois |
• average | 416 cu/ft. per sec. [1] |
Basin features | |
Progression | Middle Fork → Vermilion → Wabash → Ohio → Mississippi → Gulf of Mexico |
GNIS ID | 413502 |
Type | Scenic |
Designated | May 11, 1989 |
The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River is a tributary of the Vermilion River (Wabash River) in Illinois. The Middle Fork rises in Ford County and flows southeast to join the Vermilion near Danville. [2]
In its natural state, the Middle Fork drained a large upland marsh in what is now Ford County. The Middle Fork has been extended into the marsh by drainage ditches. Including the ditches, the Middle Fork is about 77 miles (124 km) long. [3]
The Middle Fork is Illinois' only designated National Wild and Scenic River. Parks and access points include:
The following cities, towns and villages are among those in the watershed of the Middle Fork:
Parts of the following counties are drained by the Middle Fork:
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.
The White River is an American two-forked river that flows through central and southern Indiana and is the main tributary to the Wabash River. Via the west fork, considered to be the main stem of the river by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, the White River is 362 miles (583 km) long. Indiana's capital, Indianapolis, is located on the river. The two forks meet just north of Petersburg.
The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately 133 miles (214 km) long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in North America and furnished a significant portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Significantly altered from its original channel, it flows through a primarily rural farming region of reclaimed cropland, south of Lake Michigan.
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.
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about 73 miles (117 km) long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is just over 210 miles (340 km). The main stem Feather River begins in Lake Oroville, where its four long tributary forks join together—the South Fork, Middle Fork, North Fork, and West Branch Feather Rivers. These and other tributaries drain part of the northern Sierra Nevada, and the extreme southern Cascades, as well as a small portion of the Sacramento Valley. The total drainage basin is about 6,200 square miles (16,000 km2), with approximately 3,604 square miles (9,330 km2) above Lake Oroville.
The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately 246 miles (396 km) long, in central Illinois in the United States. It drains a mostly rural agricultural area between Peoria and Springfield. The river is associated with the early career of Abraham Lincoln and played an important role in early European settlement of Illinois, when the area around was known as the "Sangamon River Country". The section of the Sangamon River that flows through Robert Allerton Park near Monticello was named a National Natural Landmark in 1971.
The Vermilion River is a tributary of the Wabash River in the states of Illinois and Indiana, United States.
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".
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. The name comes from French explorers, who used the term embarras for river obstacles, blockages, and difficulties relating to logjams and the like.
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.
Boneyard Creek is a 3.3-mile-long (5.3 km) waterway that drains much of the cities of Champaign and Urbana, Illinois. 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 at Urbana-Champaign. The newsletter of the university's ACM chapter is Banks of the Boneyard, named after the creek.
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.
The Little Vermilion River is a 59.6-mile-long (95.9 km) tributary of the Wabash River. The Little Vermilion rises in southern Vermilion County, Illinois, flowing eastward past Georgetown, Illinois, into Vermillion County, Indiana, where it joins the Wabash near Newport.
The Salt Fork is a tributary of the Vermilion River located in the Central Corn Belt Plains of Illinois.
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.
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.
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 Middle Fork American River is one of three forks that form the American River in Northern California. It drains a large watershed in the high Sierra Nevada west of Lake Tahoe and northeast of Sacramento in Placer and El Dorado Counties, between the watersheds of the North Fork American River and South Fork American River. The Middle Fork joins with the North Fork near Auburn and they continue downstream to Folsom Lake as the North Fork, even though the Middle Fork carries a larger volume of water.
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.
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