FACTOID # 148: The top ten tourist destinations France, Spain, USA, Italy, China, UK, Austria, Mexico, Germany and Canada account for 49.6 percent of all tourist arrivals worldwide.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS    Advanced view

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Calumet Sag Channel
The Little Calumet River, with the Chicago Skyway traversing it.
The Little Calumet River, with the Chicago Skyway traversing it.

The Calumet River refers to a system of heavily industrialized rivers in the region around South Chicago and Gary, Indiana. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x737, 159 KB) Summary This image was found at the Library of Congress HAER archive entry with the original caption: 22. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x737, 159 KB) Summary This image was found at the Library of Congress HAER archive entry with the original caption: 22. ... The Chicago Skyway also known as Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System is a 7. ... River upstream of an Australian trout farm A river is a large natural waterway. ... South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, located on the southeast side of the city, is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois. ... This article is about the city in Indiana, for other uses of Gary, see Gary (disambiguation). ...

Contents

Origin of Name

The name "Calumet" refers to the calumet, an elaborate pipe that served as a universal sign of peace among the Illiniwek, and which was presented to Pere Marquette in 1673. A Lakota (Sioux) peace pipe pipestem, without the pipe itself, displayed at the United States Library of Congress A peace pipe, also called a calumet or medicine pipe, is a ceremonial smoking pipe used by many Native American tribes, traditionally as a token of peace. ... The Illiniwek (also known as the Illini, Illinois, Illinois Confederacy, etc) were a group of sixNative American tribes in the upper Mississippi River valley of North America. ... Father Jacques Marquette (French: Père Jacques Marquette) (June 10, 1637–May 18, 1675) and Louis Jolliet were the first Europeans to see and map the Mississippi River. ...


Original Course

The area is extremely flat and the course and even the direction of the river system has changed repeatedly. The low gradient gives the river only a very small current. Before human alteration, water flowed westward from LaPorte County, Indiana along the Little Calumet River, made a complete turn, and flowed east along the Grand Calumet into Lake Michigan at the Miller section of Gary, Indiana. LaPorte County is a county located in the state of Indiana. ... Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one in the group located entirely within the United States. ... This article is about the city in Indiana, for other uses of Gary, see Gary (disambiguation). ...


Parts of the Calumet River system

Calumet River

The Calumet River, on the south side of Chicago, originally simply drained Lake Calumet to Lake Michigan. A canal extending it, legendarily claimed to have been created by voyageurs at the site of a frequent portage, was dug connecting the two Calumet Rivers at the point where the name now changes from Grand to Little. Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Lake Calumet is the largest body of water within the city of Chicago, Illinois. ...


Grand Calumet River

The Grand Calumet River, originating in the east end of Gary, Indiana, flows 13 miles (21 km) through the cities of Gary, East Chicago and Hammond. The majority of the river's flow drains into Lake Michigan via the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, sending about 1,500 cubic feet per second (44 m³/s) of water into the lake. Today, 90 percent of the river's flow originates as municipal and industrial effluent, cooling and process water and storm water overflows. Although discharges have been reduced, a number of contaminants continue to impair the area of concern (AOC). This article is about the city in Indiana, for other uses of Gary, see Gary (disambiguation). ... East Chicago (IPA: ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, opposite Chicago, Illinois. ... Location in the state of Indiana Coordinates: County Lake Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr. ... Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one in the group located entirely within the United States. ... Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is an artificial waterway in East Chicago, Indiana which connects the Grand Calumet River to Lake Michigan. ... In the context of creating Plutonium at the Hanford Site, effluent refers to the cooling water that is discharged from a nuclear reactor that may or may not be radioactive. ...


Little Calumet River

The Little Calumet River flows through or borders the towns of Blue Island, Illinois, Dixmoor, Phoenix, Riverdale, Harvey, Calumet City, Lansing, Dolton, South Holland in Illinois and Hammond, Munster, Indiana|Munster]], Griffith, Highland, East Gary in Indiana. The Little Calumet flows into the Calumet River and Cal-Sag Canal. The Little Calumet has 109 miles of river and tributaries and drains 213 square miles.[1] Incorporated City in 1835. ... Dixmoor is a village located in Cook County, Illinois. ... Phoenix is a village located in Cook County, Illinois. ... Incorporated Village in 1892. ... Harvey is a city located in Cook County, Illinois. ... Calumet City is a city located in Cook County, Illinois. ... Incorporated Village in 1893. ... Incorporated Village in 1893. ... South Holland is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. ... Location in the state of Indiana Coordinates: County Lake Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr. ... Munster is a town in Lake County, Indiana, United States. ... Griffith is a town located in Lake County, Indiana and Calumet Township of Lake County, USA. It is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, and is located in The Region of Northwest Indiana. ... Highland is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Indiana: Highland, Lake County, Indiana Highland, Vanderburgh County, Indiana This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... East Gary is the former name of the city of Lake Station, Indiana. ...


Cal-Sag Channel

The Cal-Sag Channel (short for "Calumet Sag Channel") is a navigation canal in southern Cook County, Illinois. It serves as a channel between the Little Calumet River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. It is 16 miles (26 km) long and was dug over an 11-year period, from 1911 until 1922. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Channel (geography). ... Cook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 0 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... The Calumet River refers to a system of heavily industrialized rivers in the region around South Chicago and Gary, Indiana. ... The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is the only shipping link between the Great Lakes (specifically Lake Michigan by the Chicago River) with the Mississippi River system, by way of the Illinois and Des Plaines rivers. ...


The Cal-Sag Channel serves barge traffic in what was an active zone of heavy industry in the far southern neighborhoods of the city of Chicago, Illinois and adjacent suburbs. As of 2006 it is also used more as a conduit for wastewater from southern Cook County, including the Chicago-area Deep Tunnel Project, into the Illinois Waterway. Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning compared to light industry. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... The Illinois waterway system is consisted of 336 miles of water. ...


The western 4.5 miles (7.3 km) of the channel flow through the Palos Hills Forest Preserves, a large area of parkland operated by Cook County Forest Preserve.


Problems with the urban river

Problems in the area of concern include contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals, such as mercury, cadmium, chromium and lead. Additional problems include high fecal coliform bacteria levels, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids, oil and grease. These contaminants originate from both point and nonpoint sources. Image File history File links Information_icon. ... Abbreviation (from Latin brevis short) is strictly a shortening, but more particularly, an abbreviation is a letter or group of letters, taken from a word or words, and employed to represent them for the sake of brevity. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). ... Pah: God of the Moon. ... A heavy metal is any of a number of higher atomic weight elements, which has the properties of a metallic substance at room temperature. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 200. ... General Name, Symbol, Number cadmium, Cd, 48 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 5, d Appearance silvery gray metallic Atomic mass 112. ... General Name, Symbol, Number chromium, Cr, 24 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic mass 51. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish white Atomic mass 207. ... Binomial name Escherichia coli T. Escherich, 1885 Escherichia coli (usually abbreviated to E. coli) is one of the main species of bacteria that live in the lower intestines of warm-blooded animals (including birds and mammals) and are necessary for the proper digestion of food. ... BOD - biochemical (biological) oxygen demand is a test used to measure the concentration of biodegradable organic matter present in a sample of water. ...


Nonpoint sources

  • Contaminated Sediment. The Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor and Canal contain 5 to 10 million cubic yards (3.9 to 7.7 million m³) of contaminated sediment up to 20 feet (6 m) deep. Contaminants include toxic compounds (e.g., PAHs, PCBs and heavy metals) and conventional pollutants (e.g., phosphorus, nitrogen, iron, magnesium, volatile solids, oil and grease).
  • Industrial Waste Site Runoff. Stormwater runoff and leachate from 11 of 38 waste disposal and storage sites in the area of concern, located within 0.2 miles (300 m) of the river, are degrading AOC water quality. Contaminants include oil, heavy metals, arsenic, PCBs, PAHs and lead.
  • CERCLA Sites. There are 52 sites in the area of concern listed in the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability System (CERCLA). Five of these sites are Superfund sites on the National Priorities List (NPL).
  • Hazardous Waste Sites under RCRA. There are 423 hazardous waste sites in the AOC regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), such as landfills or surface impoundments, where hazardous waste is disposed. Twenty-two of these sites are treatment, storage and disposal facilities.
  • Underground Storage Tanks (USTs). There are more than 460 underground storage tanks in the AOC. More than 150 leaking tank reports have been filed for the Lake County section of the AOC since mid-1987.
  • Atmospheric Deposition. Atmospheric deposition of toxic substances from fossil fuel burning, waste incineration and evaporation enter the AOC through direct contact with water, surface water runoff and leaching of accumulated materials deposited on land. Toxins from this source include dioxins, PCBs, insecticides and heavy metals.
  • Urban Runoff. Rain water passing over paved urban areas washes grease, oil and toxic organics such as PCBs and PAHs into AOC surface waters.
  • Contaminated Groundwater. Groundwater contaminated with organic compounds, heavy metals and petroleum products contaminates AOC surface waters. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) estimates that at least 16.8 million US gallons (64,000 m³) of oil float on top of groundwater beneath the AOC.

Checking the status of a cleanup site Superfund is the common name for the United States environmental law that is officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601 to 9675, which was enacted by the United States Congress on December 11...

Point sources of contaminants

  • Industrial and Municipal Wastewater Discharges. Three steel manufacturers contribute 90 percent of industrial point source discharges to the AOC. One chemical manufacturer discharges into the AOC. Permitted discharges include arsenic, cadmium, cyanide, copper, chromium, lead and mercury. Three municipal treatment works (Gary, Hammond and East Chicago Sanitary Districts) discharge treated domestic and industrial wastewater into the AOC.
  • Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). Fifteen CSOs contribute untreated municipal waste, including conventional and toxic pollutants, to the AOC. Annually, CSO outfalls discharge an estimated 11 billion US gallons (42,000,000 m³) of raw wastewater into the harbor and river. Approximately 57% of the annual CSO volume is discharged within eight miles (13 km) of Lake Michigan, resulting in nearshore fecal coliform contamination.

Historically, the Grand Calumet River supported highly diverse, globally unique fish and wildlife communities. Today, remnants of this diversity near the AOC are found in the Gibson Woods and Pine nature preserves. These areas contain tracks of dune and swale topography and associated rare plant and animals species, such as Franklin's ground squirrel, Blanding's turtle, the glass lizard and the Black-crowned Night Heron, among others. The problems mentioned above, however, have impaired many desired uses of the AOC. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Point source (sound), Point source (light), Point source (heat), Point source (radio) and Point source (fluid) (Discuss) A point source of pollution is a single identifiable localized source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution. ... General Name, Symbol, Number arsenic, As, 33 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 15, 4, p Appearance metallic gray Atomic mass 74. ... The cyanide ion, CN−. From the top: 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Atomic mass 63. ... Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by eolian processes. ... For other meanings of swale see Swale (disambiguation). ... Franklins ground squirrel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Binomial name Emydoidea blandingii Holbrook, 1838 The Blandings Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is a species of semi-aquatic turtle. ... Species see text The Glass Lizards, genus Ophisaurus, are a group of reptiles that resemble snakes, but are actually lizards. ... Binomial name Nycticorax nycticorax (Linnaeus, 1758) The Black-crowned Night Heron (in Europe, often just Night Heron), Nycticorax nycticorax, is a medium-sized heron. ...


Effects of pollution

  • Total fish consumption restrictions exist for the Grand Calumet River, the Indiana Harbor and the Canal. Partial consumption restrictions exist for all of Lake Michigan. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has identified degraded fish populations, including tainted fish.
  • Tainting of fish & wildlife flavor
  • Degradation of fish & wildlife populations. A lack of food, low dissolved oxygen and toxic stress have destabilized river, harbor and canal resident fish communities. Pollution-tolerant species such as carp and oligochates (worms) dominate.
  • Fish tumors or other deformities
  • Bird or animal deformities or reproductive problems
  • Degradation of benthos. Only sludge worms inhabit the Indiana Harbor and ship Canal, suggesting that severe pollution exists. Phytoplankton counts are low in nearshore Lake Michigan.
  • Restrictions on dredging activities. Due to concern over disposing of contaminated sediments, no dredging activities have occurred since 1972. Accumulated sediment in the harbor and restrictions on sediment removal have reduced shipping capacity 15%, increasing shipping costs.
  • Eutrophication or undesirable algae
  • Restrictions on drinking water consumption, or taste & odor
  • Beach closings. Swimming is prohibited in the river, harbor and canal. The Hammond Beach has been closed for several years.
  • Degradation of aesthetics. Debris litters the river banks and the canal. The river and harbor often have an oily sheen, and nearshore Lake Michigan waters often appear murky.
  • Degradation of phytoplankton & zooplankton populations
  • Added cost to agriculture & industry
  • Loss of fish & wildlife habitat

Eutrophication is apparent as increased turbidity in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, imaged from orbit. ... Diagrams of some typical phytoplankton Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton that drift in the water column. ... Photomontage of plankton organisms Plankton is the aggregate community of weakly swimming but mostly drifting small organisms that inhabit the water column of the ocean, seas, and bodies of freshwater. ...

Source

This public domain government website.

  • Prairie Rivers Network
  • TopoZone, Cal Sag and Little Calumet
  • TopoZone, Lake Calumet

See also



 
 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms, 1022, m