Macoupin Creek

'''Macoupin Creek''' is a {{convert|99.7|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} tributary of the [[Illinois River]], which it joins near the village of [[Hardin, Illinois]]. The word ''macoupin'' refers to the yellow pond lily ([[Nuphar|''Nuphar advena'']]), a native plant of the regional [[wetland]]s, and a favorite food source of local Indians. It has a large rootstock (a [[tuber]]) that was baked in a fire pit. The spelling is derived from [[French language|French]] attempts at documenting the pronunciation of the Indians, with ''macoupin'' being the modern form of the original French ''macopine''. Macoupin Creek has been channelized near its junction with the Illinois River. A straight channel cuts through old [[Oxbow lake|oxbows]] on a direct path to the river. The old channel meanders through the Illinois bottoms for about {{convert|5|mi|0}} before joining the river, near the village of [[Hardin, Illinois|Hardin]]. The two channels thus form an island, called Macoupin Island, across the Illinois River from Hardin. The old channel of Macoupin Creek forms the northwestern boundary between [[Greene County, Illinois|Greene]] and [[Jersey County, Illinois|Jersey]] Counties. The actual boundary is ambiguous because of the shifting creek. The creek is about {{convert|100|mi}} in length. The lower {{convert|23|mi}} of the creek runs in a narrow valley, usually less than a mile wide, between steep bluffs that rises up to {{convert|180|ft}} high. The bottom of the valley is mainly flat, and has little or no gradient in the downstream direction. The modern channel runs in a straight line, with little evidence of old oxbows. This portion of Macoupin Creek therefore appears to be a drainage ditch that was dug through a swamp or a marsh, that had no well-defined natural channel. This matches with old accounts that this area was a wetland, with natural lakes, and vast amounts of growing macoupin. ==Cities, towns and counties== The following cities, towns and villages are drained by Macoupin Creek: *[[Carlinville, Illinois|Carlinville]] *[[Farmersville, Illinois|Farmersville]] *[[Girard, Illinois|Girard]] *[[Greenfield, Illinois|Greenfield]] *[[Kane, Illinois|Kane]] *[[Medora, Illinois|Medora]] *[[Palmyra, Illinois|Palmyra]] *[[Royal Lake, Illinois|Royal Lake]] *[[Shipman, Illinois|Shipman]] Parts of the following counties are in the Macoupin Creek watershed: *[[Greene County, Illinois|Greene County]] *[[Jersey County, Illinois|Jersey County]] *[[Montgomery County, Illinois|Montgomery County]] *[[Macoupin County, Illinois|Macoupin County]] ==External links== *[http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilmacoup/history/m_beaver.htm Beaver Dam State Park History] *[http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/PARKS/R4/beaver.htm Department of Natural Resources, Beaver Dam State Park] *[http://www.nps.gov/jeff/LewisClark2/Circa1804/Heritage/NativeAmericans/NativeAmericanInfluence.htm Illiniwik Food Sources] *[http://www.prairierivers.org/ Prairie Rivers Network] *[http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?z=15&n=4339391&e=710595&s=50&size=l&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25 TopoQuest map of Mouth of Macoupin Creek] *[http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=05587000 USGS Stream Gage Macoupin Creek] {{coord missing|Illinois}}