Wood River (Illinois) Wood River (Illinois) Wood River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, which it joins near East Alton, 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. The West Fork of the Wood River is long, and the
Fox River (Illinois River tributary) near the Fox River included the Potawatomi, Sac, and Fox tribes. The Fox River has 15 dams, including McHenry Dam, which raises the river slightly to maintain depth in the Chain O'Lakes in northern Illinois, and a hydroelectric dam near Ottawa. In the winter, bald eagles can be found nesting along the banks. Early in the history of Illinois, the Fox River provided water for the Illinois and Michigan Canal via a feeder canal, allowing the canal to pass over the Fox River on an aqueduct. In 1996, a flood damaged the Farnsworth House in Illinois, a residence designed by