Rock River (Illinois)

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The frozen Rock River near Oregon, Illinois.
The frozen Rock River near Oregon, Illinois.

The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 285 miles (459 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois.

It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately 17 miles south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. It flows southwest, through the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, then meanders southward draining the area of southeast Wisconsin between the Wisconsin River and Lake Michigan. It passes Watertown, Jefferson, and receives the Bark River at Fort Atkinson. In northern Rock County it receives the Yahara River, and flows southward through Janesville and Beloit into northern Illinois, where it receives the Pecatonica River 5 miles (8 km) south of the state line.

It flows south through Rockford, then southwest across northwestern Illinois. passing Oregon, Dixon and Rock Falls, where it becomes navigable. It joins the Mississippi at Rock Island.

[edit] Cities and villages along the river

[edit] References in popular culture

The song "To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament" was recorded by Sufjan Stevens in his album Illinois

The Rock River Valley, recorded by folk musician Art Thieme on the LP "Songs of the Heartland" (1980, Kicking Mule Records)

[edit] See also

Rockrivervalleyonline 2007 Documentary on the Rock River Valley