Kankakee River
| Kankakee River (Aukiki) | |
| Theakiki | |
| River | |
 View of the river from Kankakee, Illinois, near Cobb Park
|
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | Indiana, Illinois |
| Regions | Upper Illinois River Valley, Upper Mississippi Basin |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Yellow River, Iroquois River |
| - right | Little Kankakee River, Crooked Creek (Indiana) |
| Cities | South Bend, Indiana, Kankakee, Illinois |
| Source | St. Joseph County, Indiana |
| - location | Portage Township, St. Joseph County, Indiana |
| - elevation | 725 ft (221 m) |
| - coordinates | 41°39′14.864″N 86°18′19.0404″W / 41.65412889°N 86.305289000°W |
| Mouth | Illinois River |
| - elevation | 508 ft (155 m) |
| - coordinates | 41°23′25.4292″N 88°15′37.1478″W / 41.390397000°N 88.260318833°WCoordinates: 41°23′25.4292″N 88°15′37.1478″W / 41.390397000°N 88.260318833°W |
| Length | 133 mi (214 km) |
| Basin | 5,150 sq mi (13,338 km2) |
| Discharge | for Wilmington, Will County, Illinois |
| - average | 4,823 cu ft/s (137 m3/s) |
| - max | 75,900 cu ft/s (2,149 m3/s) |
| - min | 204 cu ft/s (6 m3/s) |
The Kankakee River ([ˌkæŋkəˈki]) is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately 133 miles (214 km) long, in 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 Kankakee rises in northwestern Indiana, approximately 5 miles (8 km) southwest of South Bend. It flows in a straight channelized course, generally southwestward through rural northwestern Indiana, collecting the Yellow River from the south in Starke County, and passing the communities of South Center and English Lake. It forms the border between LaPorte, Porter, and Lake counties on the north and Starke, Jasper, and Newton counties on the south. The river curves westward as it enters Kankakee County in northeastern Illinois. Approximately 3 miles (5 km) southeast of the city of Kankakee, it receives the Iroquois River from the south and turns sharply to the northwest for its lower 35 miles (56 km). It joins the Des Plaines River from the south to form the Illinois River, approximately 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Chicago.
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Wikipedia