Galena River (Illinois)

The Galena River, also known as the Fevre or Fever River,[1] is a 52.4-mile-long (84.3 km)[2] river which flows through the Midwestern United States.

Galena River
Rivière aux Fèves
The Galena River flowing through downtown Galena, Illinois in April 2008. Note the city floodgates in center connecting to the river levee system on the right
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationLafayette County northwest of Belmont, Wisconsin
 • coordinates42°45′17″N 90°23′04″W
 • elevation1,153 ft (351 m)
Mouth 
 • location
Confluence with the Mississippi southwest of Galena, Illinois
 • coordinates
42°22′27″N 90°26′46″W
 • elevation
591 ft (180 m)
Length52 mi (84 km)
Basin features
ProgressionGalena River → Mississippi → Gulf of Mexico
GNIS ID426934

Geography

The river rises in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, south of Benton and southwest of Shullsburg. It enters Illinois in Jo Daviess County to flow through the city of Galena before it joins the upper Mississippi River a few miles south and west. The river is part of the Driftless Area of Illinois and Wisconsin. This region was ice-free during the Wisconsin glaciation and underwent hundreds of thousands of years of glacial-free erosion. The river also occupies a substantial canyon.

History

The river was originally known as "Rivière aux Fèves" and "Bean River" due to the large amounts of wild beans that grew along its banks.[3] Following English language code-switching of the French river name "Rivière aux Fèves", the river name was corrupted and was eventually referred to as "Fever River".[3][4]

Winnebago War

The Winnebago War of 1827, also known as the "Fevre River War", is associated with this river.

See also

References
  • Jim Post's historical song "Oh, Galena" opens with the line "My papa is a slave on the Fever River" and depicts a boy yearning for life in the riverboat town of Galena.[4]

Notes
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Galena River
  2. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-04-05 at WebCite, accessed May 13, 2011
  3. Wis. Historical Collections XV: 343
  4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 125.
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