Illinois

:This article is about the State of Illinois. See Illinois (disambiguation) for other uses.

Geography

Illinois is in the north-central U.S. and borders on Lake Michigan. Surrounding states are Wisconsin to the north, Iowa and Missouri to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Indiana to the east. Illinois also borders Michigan, but only via a water boundary in Lake Michigan.

Related Topics:
Lake Michigan - Wisconsin - Iowa - Missouri - Kentucky - Indiana

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Illinois has three major geographical divisions. The first is Chicagoland, including the city of Chicago, its suburbs, and the adjoining exurban area into which the metropolis is expanding. This region includes a few counties in Indiana and Wisconsin and stretches across much of northern Illinois toward the Iowa border, generally along Interstates 80 and 90. This region is cosmopolitan, densely populated, industrialized, and settled by a variety of ethnic groups. The city of Chicago is heavily Democratic. While this tendency has historically been balanced by Republican voters in the suburbs, Democrats have significantly increased their suburban support in the past decade.

Related Topics:
Chicagoland - Chicago - 80 - 90 - Democratic - Republican

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Southward and westward, the second major division is central Illinois, an area of mostly flat prairie. Known as the Land of Lincoln, it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agriculture, particularly corn and soybeans, figures prominently. Major cities include famously average Peoria, Springfield (the state capital), and Champaign-Urbana (home of the University of Illinois). This region's largely rural character helps to sustain a largely Republican voting pattern and widespread antipathy toward Chicago.

Related Topics:
Prairie - Lincoln - Corn - Soybeans - Peoria - Springfield - Champaign - Urbana - University of Illinois

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The third division is southern Illinois, comprising the area south of U.S. Route 50, and including Little Egypt, near the juncture of the Mississippi River and Ohio River. This region can be distinguished from the other two by its warmer climate, different mix of crops (including some cotton farming in the past), more rugged unglaciated topography, as well as small-scale oil deposits and coal mining. The area is a little more populated than the central part of the state with the population centered in two areas: the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area (the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis are known as "The Metro-East") and the in Carbondale, Marion, West Frankfort, Herrin, Murphysboro, Carterville, Johnston City area which is home to a little over 180,000 residents. The combination of poorer soil, coal mining and industrialization has caused the region to lean Democratic politically, especially in the urbanized region around Saint Louis, Missouri.

Related Topics:
U.S. Route 50 - Little Egypt - Mississippi River - Ohio River - Cotton - Coal - Metro-East - Saint Louis - Missouri

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Collectively, central and southern Illinois are often referred to within Illinois as "downstate Illinois".

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McLean County is the largest county in terms of land area, at 1,184 sq mi., while Cook County is the largest county in terms of population, at 5,327,777 (both figures are as of 2004).

Related Topics:
McLean County - Cook County - 2004

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In extreme northwestern Illinois the Driftless Zone, a region of unglaciated and therefore higher and more rugged topography, occupies a small part of the state. Charles Mound, located in this region, is the state's highest elevation above sea level.

Related Topics:
Driftless Zone - Charles Mound - Sea level

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The floodplain on the Mississippi River from Alton to the Kaskaskia River is the American Bottom, and is the site of the ancient city of Cahokia, and was a region of early French settlement, as well as the site of the first state capital, at Kaskaskia.

Related Topics:
Alton - Kaskaskia River - American Bottom - Cahokia - Kaskaskia

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