Big Muddy River the sides of hills, exposing coal deposits. The first coal mine in Illinois is believed to have been opened in 1810 on the banks of the Big Muddy in Jackson County. The Big Muddy cuts through the Shawnee Hills south of Murphysboro near the confluence with its smaller tributary, Kinkaid Creek. From there, it runs southward roughly twenty miles and meets the Mississippi directly south of Grand Tower. Near its mouth, a small portion of the Big Muddy acts as the dividing line between Jackson and Union counties. Major tributaries of the Big Muddy include Beaucoup Creek, the Little Muddy
Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference The Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference (SIRR) is a high school athletic conference represented by 12 schools in southern Illinois. The conference is divided into two divisions. While technically in the same conference each division crowns its own champion, and each winner is regarded as the conference champion as if they were in two separate conferences. Schools are only required to play other schools within their own division although cross-divisional play is very common. Seven of the charter members of the River-to-River Conference were members of the old Southwest Egyptian Conference. Around 1991, the Southwest Egyptian was