North Shore Channel

Apr 21, 2026 - 07:16
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North Shore Channel

Undid revision 1350271724 by שמואל בן שמעון (talk). Lower is correct. The water flowed over the dam, dropping from the North Branch into the channel.

← Previous revision Revision as of 01:45, 21 April 2026
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The North Shore Channel, a component of the [[Chicago Area Waterway System]] (CAWS), flows from [[Lake Michigan]], near the [[Bahá'í House of Worship (Wilmette, Illinois)|Bahá'í House of Worship]] in [[Wilmette, Illinois]], to the North Branch of the Chicago River in [[Chicago]].[http://www.chicagoriver.org/about-the-river/where-is-the-chicago-river "Where is the Chicago River?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008044707/http://www.chicagoriver.org/about-the-river/where-is-the-chicago-river |date=2014-10-08 }}, Friends of the Chicago River. Retrieved August 18, 2014. "The Upper North Branch then continues to flow south through Niles into the city of Chicago, where it combines with the North Shore Channel at River Park and forms the North Branch of the Chicago River. The North Shore Channel starts in Wilmette and flows through Skokie, Evanston, and Lincolnwood to Chicago."
The North Shore Channel, a component of the [[Chicago Area Waterway System]] (CAWS), flows from [[Lake Michigan]], near the [[Bahá'í House of Worship (Wilmette, Illinois)|Bahá'í House of Worship]] in [[Wilmette, Illinois]], to the North Branch of the Chicago River in [[Chicago]].[http://www.chicagoriver.org/about-the-river/where-is-the-chicago-river "Where is the Chicago River?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008044707/http://www.chicagoriver.org/about-the-river/where-is-the-chicago-river |date=2014-10-08 }}, Friends of the Chicago River. Retrieved August 18, 2014. "The Upper North Branch then continues to flow south through Niles into the city of Chicago, where it combines with the North Shore Channel at River Park and forms the North Branch of the Chicago River. The North Shore Channel starts in Wilmette and flows through Skokie, Evanston, and Lincolnwood to Chicago."


The channel begins at the Wilmette Pumping Station, where [[sluice gate]]s are generally used to provide for a consistent water level in the channel by controlling water diversion from Lake Michigan, although the gates are opened during [[severe storm]] weather conditions to allow the channel to backflow into the lake in order to prevent downstream flooding. From the pumping station, the channel flows southwest, and then south, through or near Wilmette, [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], [[Skokie, Illinois|Skokie]], and [[Lincolnwood, Illinois|Lincolnwood]], and into Chicago. The south end of the channel flows into the North Branch at approximately 5100 north and 3000 west in the Chicago street-address numbering system. A concrete [[weir|low head dam]], {{convert|82|ft}} in width and {{convert|8|ft}} in height, was constructed at the [[confluence]] of the channel and river in 1910, creating Chicago's only waterfall within the city limits.[http://www.openlands.org/chicago-river-water-trails "Chicago River Water Trails"], Openland. Retrieved August 23, 2014.{{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Libby |title=The Chicago River : a natural and unnatural history |date=2019 |location=Carbondale, IL |isbn=9780809337071 |page=130 |edition=Revised |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FueLDwAAQBAJ&dq=North%20Branch%20Dam%20Chicago%20built%20in%201910%20erosion%20and%20flooding&pg=PR6|access-date=2 April 2023}} Because the water surface of the North Shore Channel would be {{convert|4|ft}} higher than that of the river's, the dam was built to prevent the river from eroding its banks upstream of the confluence due to the difference in the water surface elevations.
The channel begins at the Wilmette Pumping Station, where [[sluice gate]]s are generally used to provide for a consistent water level in the channel by controlling water diversion from Lake Michigan, although the gates are opened during [[severe storm]] weather conditions to allow the channel to backflow into the lake in order to prevent downstream flooding. From the pumping station, the channel flows southwest, and then south, through or near Wilmette, [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], [[Skokie, Illinois|Skokie]], and [[Lincolnwood, Illinois|Lincolnwood]], and into Chicago. The south end of the channel flows into the North Branch at approximately 5100 north and 3000 west in the Chicago street-address numbering system. A concrete [[weir|low head dam]], {{convert|82|ft}} in width and {{convert|8|ft}} in height, was constructed at the [[confluence]] of the channel and river in 1910, creating Chicago's only waterfall within the city limits.[http://www.openlands.org/chicago-river-water-trails "Chicago River Water Trails"], Openland. Retrieved August 23, 2014.{{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Libby |title=The Chicago River : a natural and unnatural history |date=2019 |location=Carbondale, IL |isbn=9780809337071 |page=130 |edition=Revised |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FueLDwAAQBAJ&dq=North%20Branch%20Dam%20Chicago%20built%20in%201910%20erosion%20and%20flooding&pg=PR6|access-date=2 April 2023}} Because the water surface of the North Shore Channel would be {{convert|4|ft}} lower than that of the river's, the dam was built to prevent the river from eroding its banks upstream of the confluence due to the difference in the water surface elevations.


However, the dam exacerbated existing problems of [[stagnant water]] flows and [[ponding]] on the North Branch for decades, despite multiple modifications to the dam and dredging of the river. The [[Tunnel and Reservoir Plan]] (TARP) would eventually solve those issues along the North Branch, and starting in July 2018, the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] removed the dam, replacing it with a series of [[riffle-pool sequence|riffle pools]], which allow fish to swim upstream.{{cite news |first=Patty |last=Wetli |date=March 31, 2017 |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170331/albany-park/chicago-river-waterfall-dam-river-park-north-shore-channel-army-corps-of-engineers |title=Chicago Is Losing Its Only Waterfall, and Nature Lovers Say Good Riddance |newspaper=DNAinfo |access-date=October 9, 2017 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010055536/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170331/albany-park/chicago-river-waterfall-dam-river-park-north-shore-channel-army-corps-of-engineers |archivedate=October 10, 2017 }}{{cite news |first=Patty |last=Wetli |date=July 31, 2018 |url=https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/07/31/the-end-of-chicagos-only-waterfall-marks-a-new-beginning-for-life-on-the-river/ |title=The End of Chicago's Only 'Waterfall' Marks a New Beginning for Life on the River |work=Block Club Chicago |access-date=August 1, 2018}}{{cite news |first=Genevieve |last=Bookwalter |date=August 2, 2018 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/morton-grove/news/ct-mgc-chicago-river-dam-removal-tl-0809-story.html |title=With Removal of Century-Old Dam Underway, Nature Lovers Can Soon Kayak from Skokie to Chicago Riverwalk |work=Pioneer Press |access-date=August 9, 2018}}
However, the dam exacerbated existing problems of [[stagnant water]] flows and [[ponding]] on the North Branch for decades, despite multiple modifications to the dam and dredging of the river. The [[Tunnel and Reservoir Plan]] (TARP) would eventually solve those issues along the North Branch, and starting in July 2018, the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] removed the dam, replacing it with a series of [[riffle-pool sequence|riffle pools]], which allow fish to swim upstream.{{cite news |first=Patty |last=Wetli |date=March 31, 2017 |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170331/albany-park/chicago-river-waterfall-dam-river-park-north-shore-channel-army-corps-of-engineers |title=Chicago Is Losing Its Only Waterfall, and Nature Lovers Say Good Riddance |newspaper=DNAinfo |access-date=October 9, 2017 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010055536/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170331/albany-park/chicago-river-waterfall-dam-river-park-north-shore-channel-army-corps-of-engineers |archivedate=October 10, 2017 }}{{cite news |first=Patty |last=Wetli |date=July 31, 2018 |url=https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/07/31/the-end-of-chicagos-only-waterfall-marks-a-new-beginning-for-life-on-the-river/ |title=The End of Chicago's Only 'Waterfall' Marks a New Beginning for Life on the River |work=Block Club Chicago |access-date=August 1, 2018}}{{cite news |first=Genevieve |last=Bookwalter |date=August 2, 2018 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/morton-grove/news/ct-mgc-chicago-river-dam-removal-tl-0809-story.html |title=With Removal of Century-Old Dam Underway, Nature Lovers Can Soon Kayak from Skokie to Chicago Riverwalk |work=Pioneer Press |access-date=August 9, 2018}}
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