Wood River (Illinois)

River

Wood River

Physical characteristics
Source|
• location| Confluence of the West and East Forks 2.4 mi (3.9 km) above the mouth
• coordinates| 38°53′26″N 90°06′54″W﻿ / ﻿38.8906033°N 90.1151075°W﻿ / 38.8906033; -90.1151075﻿ (Wood River origin)
Mouth|

• location

| Confluence with the Mississippi River near East Alton

• coordinates

| 38°51′38″N 90°07′44″W﻿ / ﻿38.8605°N 90.1289°W﻿ / 38.8605; -90.1289﻿ (Wood River mouth)

• elevation

| 404 ft (123 m)
Length| 2.4 mi (3.9 km)
Basin features
GNIS ID| 421411

River

East Fork Wood River

Physical characteristics
Source|
• location| Macoupin County north of Bunker Hill
• coordinates| 39°04′48″N 89°57′04″W﻿ / ﻿39.0800462°N 89.9512135°W﻿ / 39.0800462; -89.9512135﻿ (East Fork Wood River origin)
Mouth|

• location

| Confluence with the West Fork, forming Wood River

• coordinates

| 38°53′26″N 90°06′54″W﻿ / ﻿38.89055°N 90.11496°W﻿ / 38.89055; -90.11496﻿ (East Fork Wood River mouth)

• elevation

| 420 ft (130 m)
Basin features
GNIS ID| 407649

River

West Fork Wood River

Physical characteristics
Source|
• location| Macoupin County east of Brighton
• coordinates| 39°02′54″N 90°06′58″W﻿ / ﻿39.0483798°N 90.1162192°W﻿ / 39.0483798; -90.1162192﻿ (West Fork Wood River origin)
Mouth|

• location

| Confluence with the East Fork forming the Wood River

• coordinates

| 38°53′26″N 90°06′54″W﻿ / ﻿38.89058°N 90.11508°W﻿ / 38.89058; -90.11508﻿ (West Fork Wood River mouth)

• elevation

| 420 ft (130 m)
Length| 16.4 mi (26.4 km)
Basin features
GNIS ID| 420841

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Wood River (historically, Rivière du Bois) is a 2.4-mile-long (3.9 km)[1] tributary of the Mississippi River, which it joins near East Alton, and Wood River, Illinois, to the northeast of St. Louis, Missouri.

The Wood River is formed by the confluence of its West and East forks. These come together near where they drop down from the Mississippi bluffs. The natural channel of the Wood River used to follow the Mississippi through the bottoms before joining it. This has been cut off by an artificial channel that runs through flood control structures directly to the Mississippi. In 1803, the Wood River (then known in French as 'du Bois), gave its name to Camp Wood, where the Lewis and Clark expedition assembled.

The West Fork of the Wood River is 16.4 miles (26.4 km) long, and the East Fork is 21.9 miles (35.2 km) long.[1] Honeycut Branch is a major tributary of the West Fork, and Girder Branch is a major tributary of the East Fork.

The mouth of the Wood River was a highly industrialized area during much of the 20th century. The Olin Chemical plant produced explosives and munitions for the wars of the last century. This remains as the Winchester ammunition plant. The Wood River petroleum refinery continues to operate on a reduced scale.

## Cities, towns and counties

[edit]

The following cities, towns and villages are in the Wood River watershed:

* Alton
* Bethalto
* East Alton
* Wood River
* Woodburn

The following Illinois counties are drained in part by the Wood River:

* Jersey County
* Macoupin County
* Madison County

## See also

[edit]

* List of Illinois rivers

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 13, 2011

## External links

[edit]

* Prairie Rivers Network
* Winchester Ammunition Plant, East Alton
* Wood River Refinery Museum
* Wood River Refinery

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