Wood River (Illinois) Explained

Wood River
Source1 Location:Confluence of the West and East Forks 2.4miles above the mouth
Source1 Coordinates:38.8906°N -90.1151°W
Mouth Coordinates:38.8605°N -90.1289°W
Mouth Elevation:404feet
Length:2.4miles
Custom Label:GNIS ID
East Fork Wood River
Source1 Coordinates:39.08°N -89.9512°W
Mouth Location:Confluence with the West Fork, forming Wood River
Mouth Coordinates:38.8906°N -90.115°W
Mouth Elevation:420feet
Custom Label:GNIS ID
West Fork Wood River
Source1 Coordinates:39.0484°N -90.1162°W
Mouth Location:Confluence with the East Fork forming the Wood River
Mouth Coordinates:38.8906°N -90.1151°W
Mouth Elevation:420feet
Length:16.4miles
Custom Label:GNIS ID

Wood River (historically, Rivière du Bois) is a 2.4adj=midNaNadj=mid[1] tributary of the Mississippi River, which it joins near East Alton, and Wood River, Illinois, to the northeast of St. Louis, Missouri.

The Wood River is formed by the confluence of its West and East forks. These come together near where they drop down from the Mississippi bluffs. The natural channel of the Wood River used to follow the Mississippi through the bottoms before joining it. This has been cut off by an artificial channel that runs through flood control structures directly to the Mississippi. In 1803, the Wood River (then known in French as '), gave its name to Camp Wood, where the Lewis and Clark expedition assembled.

The West Fork of the Wood River is long, and the East Fork is long.[1] Honeycut Branch is a major tributary of the West Fork, and Girder Branch is a major tributary of the East Fork.

The mouth of the Wood River was a highly industrialized area during much of the 20th century. The Olin Chemical plant produced explosives and munitions for the wars of the last century. This remains as the Winchester ammunition plant. The Wood River petroleum refinery continues to operate on a reduced scale.

Cities, towns and counties

The following cities, towns and villages are in the Wood River watershed:

The following Illinois counties are drained in part by the Wood River:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 13, 2011