Publication Date

1962

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Reinemann, Martin W.

Degree Name

M.S. Ed. (Master of Education)

Legacy Department

Department of Earth Science

LCSH

Land use--Illinois--Calumet River; Land use--Illinois--Lake Calumet

Abstract

The objectives of this study were: to describe the land uses along the strand end environs of the Calumet River— Lake Calumet complex and to interpret their relationships, and to inform the reader of the potential of this area. To accomplish this, a simplified eclectic land use classification was employed. The general headings were: Industrial, Commerical, Residential, Private Clubs, and Vacant; subheadings indicated the specific land use function of the site. The study area consisted of 52 contiguous river and Lake sites. The land use pattern and the specific locations were presented cartographically. The seasonal influence of this areas Continental climate has little effect, due to man's activities and controls, on the area physically. Shipping does terminate ©n Lake Michigan during the winter, thus, restricting allied economic activities in the study area. Lake Calumet's improved section, at the southern end of the lake, is the only portion that remains open. The marine deposits of the strata and the glacially deposited surface veneer reflects the area's past geological history. Due to sand dunes along lake Michigan's strand the course of the Calumet was forced northward to flow parallel with, and eventually into, Lake Michigan. Lake Calumet is a ramification of the Calumet River. The comprehensive port facilities and diverse economic activities in the study area are not exclusively the result of local economic functions nor the Calumet area's. The industrial and commercial activities arc the result of these and the nature of the hinterland. Even though the commercial sites are more abundant the the industrial sites dominate the study area. The heavy industries possess the largest sites, control the best locations, maintain the most river slips, and have the largest buildings in ground surface area. The industry in the study area comprises one of the largest concentrations of industry in the world. All of the industries in the study area are along the river. There are two large industrial concentrations along the river, one at the orginal mouth, and the other is from 106th Street to 122nd Street. South from the large industrial concentration at the orginal river mouth the sites have less river frontage, are more limited in depth, and more diverse in activity. Along the sinuous river there are 15 turning points, 12 are slips. Industry controls the largest number of slips but commercial sites accomodate more vessels. Fifteen bridges athwart the six mile river, but present modifications will replace or remove several of these bridges. Commerce and industry form a narrow fringe along the Calumet River in a residential and vacant region of Chicago. The environs from Lake Michigan south to 110th Street are residential and the remaining southern environs are vacant. The most recently developed section in the study area contains seven commercial sites at the southern end of Lake Calumet. The harbor here is a water crossroads, where rail, ship and truck meet to transfer and exchange the diverse cargoes of the 56 countries with which the fort of Chicago has transactions. Lake Calumet links the St. Lawrence Seaway —Great Lakes system to the Mississippi River complex. Specially designed facilities at Lake Calumet, leased to private companies, utilize modern handling equipment. Convenient railways and highways service the Calumet area. The cargoes handled at Lake Calumet are diverse. With the completion of the "bulk liquid terminal" presently under construction, Lake Calumet will be the best integrated port on the Great Lakes. The future developments planned for the study area are vast. Plans provide for a series of river and lake improvements that will expedite and simplify river and lake traffic. Plans for Lake Calumet include the development of 1,700 acres into industrial and commercial sites that are either allied to, or rely on water transportation. The existing facilities and the nature of prevailing economic activities of the Calumet Region combined with the future improvements will result in accomplishment of the goal to make Chicago a major world port.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.||Includes illustrations and maps.

Extent

3, ix, 83 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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