The Geography of Illinois
Illinois is located in the Midwest
Region of the United States and is one of the nine states and Canadian
Province of Ontario in the bi-national Great Lakes
region of North America.
Bordered by
the Mississippi River on the west and the Wabash and Ohio Rivers on the
southeast and south, the landscape of Illinois can be grouped into three main
regions; the Central Plains, the Shawnee Hills and the Gulf Coastal Plain.
About 90% of Illinois is covered by the Central Plains region. These
gently rolling fertile plains were carved and leveled by glaciers during the
Ice Age. The Central Plains run from Lake Michigan west and south to cover most
of the state and can be divided into three sections; the Great Lakes Plain, the
Driftless Plains and the Till Plains.
History
The history of Illinois may be
defined by several broad historical periods, namely, the pre-Columbian period,
the era of European exploration and colonization, its development as part of
the American frontier, and finally, its growth into one of the most
populous and economically powerful states of theUnited States.
French
explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, in 1673, were the first
Europeans of record to visit the region. In 1699 French settlers established
the first permanent settlement at Cahokia, near present-day East St.
Louis. Great Britain obtained the region at the end of the French and Indian Wars in 1763. The area
figured prominently in frontier struggles during the Revolutionary Warand in Indian wars during the
early 19th century.
Significant
episodes in the state's early history include the influx of settlers following
the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825; the Black Hawk War, which virtually ended the
Indian troubles in the area; and the rise of Abraham Lincoln from farm laborer to
president.
You can read more here: http://www.illinois.gov/about/pages/historyandculture.aspx
http://www.illinoishistory.gov/hs/sites.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108209.html
The capital of Illinois -
Springfield is
the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the
county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 116,250 (U.S.
Bureau of the Census, 2010), making it the sixth most populated city in the
state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago
Metropolitan Area.
Just over 208,000 residents live in the Springfield Metropolitan
Statistical Area, which includes Sangamon County and adjacent Menard
County. Present-day Springfield was first settled by European Americans in the
late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The most famous past
resident is Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until
1861, when he went to the White House as
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Abraham Lincoln's Tomb, Springfield
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President. Major tourist attractions
include a multitude of historic sites connected with Lincoln. In 1908 a large
race riot erupted in the city, which resulted in the lynching of two
African-American men and deaths of four whites killed by defenders of black
areas; it led to the founding of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
or here: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/springfield_illinois.htm
Walt Disney
The creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of Disneyland and
Walt Disney World was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. His
father, Elias Disney, was an Irish-Canadian. His mother, Flora Call Disney, was
of German-American descent. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.
During a 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the
development of the motion picture medium as a modern American art, Walter Elias
Disney, a modern Aesop, established himself and his product as a genuine part
of Americana. David Low, the late British political cartoonist, called Disney "the
most significant figure in graphic arts since Leonardo DaVinci." A pioneer
and innovator, and the possessor of one of the most fertile imaginations the
world has ever known, Walt Disney, along with members of his staff, received
more than 950 honors and citations from every nation in the world, including 48
Academy Awards and 7 Emmys in his lifetime. Walt Disney's personal awards
included honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern
California and UCLA; the Presidential Medal of Freedom; France's Legion of
Honor and Officer d'Academie decorations; Thailand's Order of the Crown;
Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross; Mexico's Order of the Aztec Eagle; and
the Showman of the World Award from the National Association of Theatre Owners.
Finde more snformanoin here: http://fuv.hivolda.no/prosjekt/gunnargrodal/bio.htm
You can also watch some videos about Walt Disney: http://www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533/videos
