Rush Creek is a 14.9-mile-long (24.0 km)[1] tributary of the Kishwaukee River in northern Illinois.[2][3]
| Rush Creek | |
|---|---|
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | McHenry County southeast of Harvard, Illinois |
| • coordinates | 42°23′18″N 88°34′07″W |
| • elevation | 1,015 ft (309 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Confluence with the Kishwaukee east of Belvidere, Illinois |
• coordinates | 42°15′23″N 88°42′10″W |
• elevation | 774 ft (236 m) |
| Length | 15 mi (24 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Rush Creek → Kishwaukee → Rock → Mississippi → Gulf of Mexico |
| GNIS ID | 417053 |
| Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap |
| Download coordinates as: KML |
There is another Rush Creek that is a tributary of the Mississippi River in Carroll County. [4]
Rush Creek's origin is in a complex of wetlands near Harvard, Illinois, two miles southeast.[5] The stream then flows southwest until it empties into the main stem of the Kishwaukee River one mile east of Garden Prairie.[5]
Approximately 65% of the main stem of Rush Creek has been channelized (ditched and straighten), however 50% of those areas are showing signs of recovery.[5] Despite the channelization and encroachment from agriculture many of the stream's features such as riffles can still be seen.[5]
Twenty-nine species of fish have been identified within Rush Creek and its tributaries, two of those species have not been seen in the watershed since 1965 - the northern pike and the largescale stoneroller.[5] Three animal species are on state or federal endangered or threatened lists - river otter, and two mussels, Elliptio dilatata (Spike) and Alasmidonta viridis (Slippershell).[5]