This is the Chicago River whose flow was reversed by wondrous engineering in the 1900s. River sewage used to empty into Lake Michigan which caused deadly cholera and typhoid outbreaks in the 1850s. The river was reversed through the use of deep digs and locks, basically creating artificial rivers to catch and train the flow to travel through to the Mississippi drainage system by way of the Des Plaines and Illinois rivers. On St. Patrick's Day, the city dyes the river green.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The Chicago River
This is the Chicago River whose flow was reversed by wondrous engineering in the 1900s. River sewage used to empty into Lake Michigan which caused deadly cholera and typhoid outbreaks in the 1850s. The river was reversed through the use of deep digs and locks, basically creating artificial rivers to catch and train the flow to travel through to the Mississippi drainage system by way of the Des Plaines and Illinois rivers. On St. Patrick's Day, the city dyes the river green.
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Great shot. When I think of the rivers in Chicago this is the image that springs to mind.
ReplyDeletelovely river photo!
ReplyDeleteAwesome photo and interesting info about the reversal too.
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ReplyDeleteFénix (Bostonscapes DP) said...
ReplyDeleteOne of Wiki's photos shows a similar view from 2004 where the old Chicago Sun-Times building can be seen and your photo shows its replacement, the new Trump tower. Very interesting! And because I just can't help it, I googled a bit and found these pix (interesting to see barges carrying demolition debris away and all that broken glass; also the reconstruction of Wabash Ave and how construction progressed up until March 25th).
Oh, and Wiki says that a bi-directional wintertime flow in the river has been observed. At the surface, the river flows east to west, away from Lake Michigan, as expected. But deep below, near the riverbed, water travels west to east, toward the lake. The things one learns... :)
Great post and great photo! I LOVE your city.
Lovely photo, and interesting water flow info.
ReplyDeletecool!!! it looks green to me here too, thought not St Patrick's green! :)
ReplyDeleteand i have such a similar shot from my travel to Chicago two years back..Have a look.....
http://mykodak.blogspot.com/search?q=chicago+river
superb photo. I've never understood why they dye the water green.
ReplyDeletei was there for st.patrick's day during spring break in college, and i loved the green dye! this is a great photo--that's exactly what it feels like to stand there. thanks for reminding me of some great memories!
ReplyDeleteNice pic, I take it you were on the Mich Ave bridge? I was never a fan of the old Sun-Times building, but I'm not a fan of the way the trump tower overpowers the site either. Oh well, times change!
ReplyDeletedying the river green
ReplyDeletenever heard the like before
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I think I will leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
ReplyDelete