Coon Creek (Kishwaukee River)
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Coon Creek is a 28.1-mile-long (45.2 km) tributary of the Kishwaukee River in northern Illinois.
Course
Coon Creek flows north from DeKalb County, Illinois, into McHenry County. The stream continues flowing northwest from the DeKalb County–McHenry County line until it empties into the Kishwaukee River in Boone County. In terms of square miles drained, Coon Creek is the second-largest tributary of the Kishwaukee River, behind only the South Branch Kishwaukee River.
Description
The DeKalb County and Boone–McHenry County portions of Coon Creek are different in character. While 72% of the watershed, Coon Creek and its tributaries, has had its stream beds channelized (ditched and straightened) only 42% of the Coon's main stem has been channelized. In McHenry County, Coon Creek still features many of its natural features, such as pools and riffles. In DeKalb County, further away from the Kishwaukee, the stream has been entirely channelized, only 6% of the Coon's tributaries in this area have not been channelized. This portion of Coon Creek retains very few of the natural instream characteristics such as pools or riffles.
Wildlife
The Coon Creek watershed (technically a subwatershed) is home to at least 34 different species of fish. Some of the species found in Coon Creek include bluegill, black crappie, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and northern pike. The blacknose shiner (Notropis heteropis) is an example of an endangered fish found in the creek. The creek is also home to two species of reptile, the federally threatened Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) and the snapping turtle.
Tributaries
Coon Creek has several tributaries. Among them are Harmony Creek, Hampshire Creek, and Burlington Creek.
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2016-06-30 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 19, 2011
- ^ Kishwaukee River Watershed Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Watersheds of Illinois - 1996 Fact Sheets, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, 1996, accessed January 22, 2011.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Coon Creek
- ^ Upper Coon Creek Subwatershed Plan, Kishwaukee River Ecosystem Partnership, May 2005, accessed January 22, 2011.
- ^ Lower Coon Creek Subwatershed Plan, Kishwaukee River Ecosystem Partnership, May 2005, accessed January 22, 2011.
- ^ Piscasaw Creek - Subwatershed plan Archived 2011-07-03 at the Wayback Machine, Kishwaukee River Ecosystem Partnership, May 2005, p. 3, 8 - 10, accessed January 23, 2011.