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Western Great Lakes: Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin

Twin waterfalls crash into Tonti Canyon on a spring day at Starved Rock State Park. The park, known for its fascinating rock formations, is located on the south side of the Illinois River in LaSalle County.

Shawnee Hills. Average annual snow- fall, however, is lowest in the southern part of the state and highest in the northeast, including Chicago. History Illinois is a French rendering of an Algonquian word. It described a con- federation of Indian tribes that occu- pied the central Mississippi valley region. Among these tribes were the Kaskaskia and the Peoria. They lived in what is today central Illinois. The first Europeans to make con- tact with these Indians, and to explore present-day Illinois, were French. In

Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and beyond. Goods moved south along the waterway can travel down the Mississippi River all the way to the Gulf Coast. There the goods can be transferred to oceangoing ships for export . This, for example, is what hap- pens with much of the corn and soy- beans grown in Illinois. In general, Illinois experiences hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is moderate to plentiful. It ranges from an average of about 32 inches (81 cm) per year in the north- eastern part of the state to about 46 inches (117 cm) in southern Illinois’