Chicago River - Course

Course

When it followed its natural course, the North and South Branches of the Chicago River converged at Wolf Point to form the Main Stem, which jogged southward from the present course of the river to avoid a baymouth bar entering Lake Michigan at about the level of present day Madison Street. Today, the Main Stem of the Chicago River flows west from Lake Michigan to Wolf Point, where it converges with the North Branch to form the South Branch, which flows south west and empties into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.