Pere Marquette State Park is an 8,050-acre (32 km²) protected area in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located near Grafton, Illinois, at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Illinois River. The park is located on Illinois Route 100, which at this location is also part of the Great River Road. The park is operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and is Illinois's largest state park. Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries â€¢ Politics Portal      A state of the United States is any one of the fifty subnational entities referred to... 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. ... Grafton is a city in Jersey County, Illinois. ... The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning great river (gichi-ziibi big river at its headwaters), is the second-longest river in the United States; the longest is the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi. ... This article is about the river in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... See also Illinois Route 100 (abbreviated IL-100) is a 157 mile (251 km) highway in the southwest Illinois. ... The Great River Road is a collection of state, provincial, federal and local roads which follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten U. S. states and one Canadian province. ... State park is a term used in the United States and in Mexico for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreation, or other reason, and under the administration of the government of a U.S. state or one of the states of Mexico. ...

History of park

The Pere Marquette State Park is named in honor of Father (Pere) Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit priest who was the co-leader, with his comrade Louis Jolliet, of a 1673 voyage of exploration on the Mississippi River. Marquette was the first European to map the mouth of the Illinois River, which he and Joliet used to return from the Mississippi to the Great Lakes. 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. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Louis Jolliet, also known Louis Joliet (baptised September 21, 1645 – 1700), was a Canadian explorer born in Quebec who is important for his discoveries in North America. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... A map is a simplified depiction of a space which highlights relations between components (objects, regions) of that space. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes in North America on or near the Canada-United States border. ...

What they found

At the mouth of the Illinois River, the explorers found one of the richest and most densely settled regions of North America, fully utilized by Native Americans of the Illini Confederacy. Large catches of fish, shellfish, and waterbirds were yielded from the rivers and adjacent wetlands. On top of the river bluff, fertile windblown loess and topsoil could be used to grow corn, beans, and squash. An Aani (Atsina) named Assiniboin Boy. ... You may be looking for Chief Illiniwek, a mascot of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Look up corn in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is on the plant. ... Species - hubbard squash, buttercup squash - cushaw squash C. moschata- butternut squash C. pepo- most pumpkins, acorn squash, summer squash References: ITIS 223652002-11-06 Hortus Third Squashes are four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called pumpkins and marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker. ...

During the years since 1673, many changes have taken place to this region. The beds of mussels and other shellfish have dwindled, harmed by over-harvesting and possible disease. Exotic fish, such as the Asian carp, have swum into the rivers and have partly replaced native species such as largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish, and crappie. Mussels A mussel is a bivalve shellfish that can be found in lakes, rivers, creeks, intertidal areas, and throughout the ocean. ... There are several species of fish known as Asian carp. ... Binomial name Micropterus salmoides The Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is a species of fish. ... Binomial name Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819 The bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is a species of freshwater fish. ... Families Akysidae Amblycipitidae Amphiliidae Ariidae Aspredinidae Astroblepidae Auchenipteridae Bagridae Callichthyidae Cetopsidae Chacidae Clariidae Claroteidae Cranoglanididae Diplomystidae Doradidae Erethistidae Hypophthalmidae Ictaluridae Lacantuniidae Loricariidae Malapteruridae Mochokidae Nematogenyidae Pangasiidae Parakysidae Pimelodidae Plotosidae Schilbeidae Scoloplacidae Siluridae Sisoridae Trichomycteridae Catfish (order Siluriformes) are a diverse group of fish. ... Species - white crappie - black crappie Pomoxis [Rafinesque, 1818], is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (family Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. ...

One signature Pere Marquette State Park species, the American bald eagle, made a remarkable comeback in the 1990s. Hundreds of eagles that nest in wetland areas to the north congregate in and around the Pere Marquette ares in late winter to catch and eat fish during the cold months. Binomial name Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) Subspecies (Linnaeus, 1766) Southern Bald Eagle Audubon, 1827) Northern Bald Eagle or Washingtons Eagle Synonyms Falco leucocephalus Linnaeus, 1766 The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), also known as the American Eagle, is a bird of prey found in North America, most recognizable as the...

Amenities and things to do

The Pere Marquette State Park was founded in 1931 as the Piasa Bluffs State Park, but was soon renamed. The park's heart is a Civilian Conservation Corps-built lodge, raised in the 1930s and expanded in 1985 to contain 72 rooms. A visitor center, with exhibits on local ecology and history, opened in 1997. Civilian Conservation Corps workers restoring the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. ... A visitor center is a place where visitors to a location can get information on the areas attractions, lodging, maps, and other items relevant to tourism. ... Ernst Haeckel coined the term oekologie in 1866. ... HIStory: Past, Present and Future – Book I is a two-disc album by Michael Jackson released in 1995 by the Epic Records division of Sony BMG. The first disc (HIStory Begins) is a fifteen-track greatest hits (later released as Greatest Hits - HIStory Volume I), while the second disc (HIStory...

The park contains approximately 12 miles (20 km) of marked trails. A 20-mile (32 km) paved bike trail accompanies the Great River Road eastward to Alton, Illinois. Approximately 230 species of birds have been logged in the park, and a horseback riding stable operates during the warmer months. The is a 2,000-acre (8 km²) public hunting area for deer, squirrel, wild turkey, and other target species. There are launching ramps for private boats to enter the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Historic Alton Home Alton is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Subfamilies Odocoilinae Cervinae Hydropotinae Muntiacinae A deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Binomial name Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus, 1758 For other uses, see Wild Turkey (disambiguation). ... A boat, like a ship, is a buoyant vessel designed for the purpose of transporting people and possibly goods across water. ...

External links

• Pere Marquette State Park official website