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Chicago

City in Illinois, United StatesChicago stretches along the western shore of Lake Michigan in north-eastern Illinois, where the Chicago River meets the lake.

What it's known for

Chicago is the most populous city in Illinois and the railroad hub of the United States. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed a large part of the city, the rebuilt Chicago put up the world's first skyscraper, with a steel skeleton, in 1885.

Fun facts

  1. The name comes from a French spelling of the Miami–Illinois word šikaakwa, a name for a wild plant related to onion and garlic.
  2. In 1900 engineers reversed the flow of the Chicago River, so it flows away from Lake Michigan instead of into it.
  3. Every year the Chicago River is dyed green for St. Patrick's Day.

Finding it on the globe

Find Lake Michigan, the long Great Lake that points south into the US Midwest: Chicago is near its southern end, on the west (Illinois) shore.

Easy to mix up

Chicago is the largest city in Illinois, but the state capital is Springfield, in central Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln lived before he became president.

Sources: Wikipedia: Chicago, Wikipedia: Chicago River, Wikipedia: Springfield, Illinois