Skip navigation
Chicago Water Walk
  • Routes▼
    • Navy Pier
    • Chicago River
    • Lakefront Marinas
    • Museum Campus
  • Maps▼
    • Navy Pier Map
    • Chicago River Map
    • Lakefront Marinas Map
    • Museum Campus Map
  • Menu
  • Routes▼
    • Navy Pier
    • Chicago River
    • Lakefront Marinas
    • Museum Campus
  • Maps▼
    • Navy Pier Map
    • Chicago River Map
    • Lakefront Marinas Map
    • Museum Campus Map

Chicago River Mouth


Chicago River Mouth
Back to Chicago River route

The big picture

The harbor lock at the mouth of the Chicago River is one of many changes people have made to the river and lake ...

The river runs backwards

For most of its history, the Chicago River sluggishly moved water from the plains to Lake Michigan. When raw ...

And the locks are key

The Chicago Harbor Lock just east of the river mouth is used to control the depth and speed of the river. Along ...

Back to Chicago River route
  • Who are we?
  • Photo credits
  • Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant

© 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois