| Coon Creek | |
| Source1 Location: | Burlington Township, Kane County, Illinois |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 42.0192°N -88.5831°W |
| Mouth Location: | Confluence with the Kishwaukee River east of Belvidere, Illinois |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 42.2544°N -88.7942°W |
| Progression: | Coon Creek → Kishwaukee → Rock → Mississippi → Gulf of Mexico |
| Source1 Elevation: | 880feet |
| Mouth Elevation: | 758feet |
| Length: | 28miles |
| Custom Label: | GNIS ID |
Coon Creek is a 28.1adj=midNaNadj=mid[1] tributary of the Kishwaukee River in northern Illinois.[2]
Coon Creek flows north from DeKalb County, Illinois, into McHenry County.[3] The stream continues flowing northwest from the DeKalb County–McHenry County line until it empties into the Kishwaukee River in Boone County.[4] In terms of square miles drained, Coon Creek is the second-largest tributary of the Kishwaukee River, behind only the South Branch Kishwaukee River.[5]
The DeKalb County and Boone–McHenry County portions of Coon Creek are different in character. While 72% of the watershed, Coon Creek and its tributaries, has had its stream beds channelized (ditched and straightened) only 42% of the Coon's main stem has been channelized.[4] In McHenry County, Coon Creek still features many of its natural features, such as pools and riffles.[4] In DeKalb County, further away from the Kishwaukee, the stream has been entirely channelized, only 6% of the Coon's tributaries in this area have not been channelized.[3] This portion of Coon Creek retains very few of the natural instream characteristics such as pools or riffles.[3]
The Coon Creek watershed (technically a subwatershed) is home to at least 34 different species of fish. Some of the species found in Coon Creek include bluegill, black crappie, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and northern pike.[4] The blacknose shiner (Notropis heteropis) is an example of an endangered fish found in the creek.[4] The creek is also home to two species of reptile, the federally threatened Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) and the snapping turtle.[4]
Coon Creek has several tributaries. Among them are Harmony Creek, Hampshire Creek, and Burlington Creek.[4]