Big Muddy River Wisconsinan-era lake. This is why the Big Muddy tends to be so muddy. The Big Muddy joins the Mississippi River in Jackson County near the La Rue-Pine Hills Ecological Area and less than south of Grand Tower Island. The Pine Hills are bluffs overlooking the Big Muddy as it flows through La Rue swamp. During the melting of the Wisconsinan glacier, the Mississippi River flood plain was filled with rushing meltwater in summer. During the winter the flow of meltwater was cut off, and the floodplain was a wide stretch of exposed mud. Winter winds created dust storms that covered
Embarras River (Illinois) southeastern Champaign; the southern portion of the University of Illinois campus, including the small creek near the Vet Med Building; and Meadowbrook Park in south Urbana. The Embarras flows generally southward through Douglas, Coles, Cumberland, and Jasper Counties. In Jasper County, it turns southeast for the remainder of its course through Richland, Crawford, and Lawrence Counties. Portions of the river's lower course have been straightened and channelized. It joins the Wabash River southwest of Vincennes, Indiana. Along its course, the Embarras passes the towns of Villa Grove, Camargo, Charleston, Greenup, Newton, Ste. Marie, and Lawrenceville. The United States Board on