Illinois
Illinois is the 25th largest state in the United States and the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Illinois was admitted to the Union on December 3, 1818. Illinois was previously known as the Illinois Territory.
Illinois is in the north-central United States. Surrounding states are Wisconsin to the north, Iowa and Missouri to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Indiana to the east. Illinois also borders Michigan, but only via a water boundary in Lake Michigan. Nearly the entire western boundary is the Mississippi River, except for a few areas where the river has changed course.
The capital city of Illinois is Springfield but the largest city in Illinois is Chicago.
Illinois has a variety of protected areas, including 123 state protected areas - state parks, wildlife areas, recreation areas, nature reserves and state forests. There are also federal and local level protected areas in the state. These levels interact to provide a variety of recreation opportunities and conservation schemes, sometimes in a small area. For instance, 1,500-acre (6.1 km2) Shabbona Lake State Park lies in DeKalb County which has its own 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) forest preserve system, while the city of DeKalb has a 700-acre (2.8 km2) park system. There is one UNESCO World Heritage Site in Illinois, Cahokia.
National Forests and Protected Areas include:
- Bald Knob Wilderness
- Bay Creek Wilderness
- Burden Falls Wilderness
- Clear Springs Wilderness
- Crab Orchard Wilderness
- Garden of the Gods Wilderness
- Lusk Creek Wilderness
- Panther Den Wilderness
- Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie - 15,454 acres (62.54 km2)
- Shawnee National Forest - 270,000 acres (1,100 km2)
Illinois has a widely varying climate. Most of Illinois has a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa) with hot, humid summers and cool to cold winters. The southernmost part of the state, from about Carbondale southward, borders on a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) with more moderate winters. Average yearly precipitation for Illinois varies from just over 48 inches (1,200 mm) at the southern tip to 35 inches (890 mm) in the northern portion of the state. Normal annual snowfall exceeds 38 inches (970 mm) in Chicago, while the southern portion of the state normally receives less than 14 inches (360 mm). The highest temperature recorded in Illinois was 117 °F (47 °C), recorded on July 14, 1954, at East St. Louis, while the lowest temperature was -37 °F (-39 °C), recorded on January 15, 2009, at Rochelle.
Illinois averages around 50 days of thunderstorm activity a year which put it somewhat above average for number of thunderstorm days for the United States. Illinois is vulnerable to tornadoes with an average of 35 occurring annually, which puts much of the state at around 5 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles (30,000 km2) annually.