Kankakee

History

The Kankakee River was originally formed around 16,000 years ago by an event known as the Kankakee Torrent. A glacial lake resulting from meltwater from the Wisconsin glaciation breached the moraines (located in what is today northern Indiana) holding it in. The resultant flood created the bed of the Kankakee River and had even greater impact in what is today the state of Illinois.

Up through the early 19th century, the river furnished an important water transportation route through the Illinois Country for both Native Americans and early European settlers, notably the French fur trappers. The headwaters of the river near present-day South Bend allowed a portage to the St. Joseph River, which drains into Lake Michigan, as well as furnishing a subsequent portage to the Lake Erie watershed.

Description

The Kankakee rises in northwestern Indiana, approximately five miles (8.0 km) southwest of South Bend, Indiana. It flows in a straight channelized course, generally southwestward through rural northwestern Indiana, collecting the Yellow River from the south in Starke County, and passing the communities of South Center and English Lake. It forms the border between LaPorte, Porter, and Lake counties on the north and Starke, Jasper, and Newton counties on the south. The river curves westward and ceases to be channelized as it enters Kankakee County in northeastern Illinois. Approximately three miles (4.8 km) southeast of the city of Kankakee, it receives the Iroquois River from the south and turns sharply to the northwest for its lower 35 miles (56 km).