Pecatonica River
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Infobox river
The Pecatonica River is a tributary of the Rock River, Template:Convert long,<ref name=NHD>U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 13, 2011</ref> in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois in the United States.
The word Pecatonica is an anglicization of two Algonquian language words: Bekaa (or Pekaa in some dialects), which means "slow", and niba, which means "water", forming the conjunction Bekaaniba or "Slow Water".
It rises in the hills of southwest Wisconsin, in southwest Iowa County, Template:Convert west of Cobb. It flows south, then southeast, past Calamine and Darlington. In southeast Lafayette County it receives the East Branch Pecatonica River, approximately Template:Convert north of the state line. It flows south-southeast into Illinois, past Freeport, where it turns east, then east-northeast, receiving the Sugar River near Shirland in northern Winnebago County, Template:Convert south of the state line. It joins the Rock at Rockton, approximately Template:Convert north of Rockford.
Illinois parks and preserves
The Winnebago County Forest Preserve District owns and operates six preserve along the river in Winnebago County. The river is the chief attraction of the Template:Convert Pecatonica Wetlands Forest Preserve and the Template:Convert Crooked River Forest Preserve off U.S. Highway 20 near Pecatonica, Illinois. These forest preserves contain oxbow lakes, wetlands, and bottomland forest. The river also flows past the Template:Convert Pecatonica River Forest Preserve off Illinois Route 70 near Pecatonica. The forest preserve contains a bottomland forest and has been designated an Illinois Nature Preserve. The Template:Convert Trask Bridge Forest Preserve and the Template:Convert Two Rivers Forest Preserve at the confluence of the Sugar River and Pecatonica River provide public boat launches, picnic areas, and fishing opportunities. At the mouth of the Pecatonica is the Template:Convert Macktown Forest Preserve on Illinois Route 75 near Rockton, the site of the ghost town of Macktown or Pe-Katonic.
The Natural Land Institute of Rockford, Illinois, owns and operates two privately owned preserves in Winnebago County. The Template:Convert Pecatonica Woodlands Preserve contains bottomland forest, oxbow, wetland, and sedge meadow habitats. The Template:Convert Nygren Wetland Preserve, located at the confluence of the Pecatonica River and the Rock River, has been restored from farmland to prairie, oak savanna, wetland, and oxbow pond.
Wisconsin parks and preserves
The river is the focus of the Template:Convert Pecatonica River Woods State Natural Area near Mineral Point in Iowa County, owned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and designated as a natural area in 1992. The Pecatonica River Woods SNA was listed on the basis of possessing a diverse range of forest ecosystems, from southern dry, through mesic, to floodplain. The Template:Convert Weir White Oaks State Natural Area, a privately owned preserve managed by the Wisconsin DNR, contains high-quality old-growth upland forest and was designated a state natural area in 2002.
The Template:Convert Blackhawk Memorial Park is owned and operated by Lafayette County.
Flooding
The Pecatonica River has flooded seven times since May 2017. Flood cleanup cost the city of Freeport, Illinois, more than $1.5 million.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The March 2019 flood crest of Template:Convert at Martintown, Wisconsin set a new record.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Pecatonica River flooded again in October 2019, along with other Chicago area rivers including the Fox River and the Rock River.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A USGS monitoring station is located at Freeport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
External links
Template:Commons category Template:GeoGroup
- Macktown Forest Preserve
- Pecatonica River Forest Preserve
- Pecatonica Wetlands Forest Preserve
- Pecatonica River Woods State Natural Area
- Pecatonica River Water Trail (privately maintained website)
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