Illinois River - Climate, Land, and Water
Changes Institute scientists use historical records to study environmental change that has occurred in Illinois since 1673. These records are a rich source of clues about geological, biological, and cultural changes.
Land
“
On one side [of the Illinois River] you see prairies requiring only
to be turned up by the plow, and on the other side valleys spreading half
a league before reaching the hills, covered with walnuts and oaks; and
behind these, prairies like those I have just spoken of.”
—
Pierre Delliette, 1702
Climate
“
There is a very great difference between this climate and that of
Québec, where
the cold lasts a long time, and a great quantity of snow falls; whereas
here, as a rule, the snow remains but a very short time.”
—Julien Binneteau, 1699
Water
“
The river is wide and deep, abounding in catfish and sturgeon. Game
is abundant there; oxen, cows, stags, does, and Turkeys are found there
in
greater numbers than elsewhere. For a distance of eighty leagues, I did
not pass a quarter of an hour without seeing some.”
—
Louis Jolliet, 1674