Confluence of the Ohio River and Mississippi River - Cairo, IL - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

Throughout its entire length State 3 roughly parallels the Mississippi River. Traversing the southern portion of the East St. Louis industrial area, the route crosses a region of rolling prairies and woodlands which saw the first extensive settlement in the State—the heart of the American Bottom, center of French colonization in the Mississippi Valley during the eighteenth century. Between Chester and Cairo the highway follows the Mississippi bottom lands, sometimes at the water's edge, generally inland at the base of the bluffs. In its southern half the route crosses the Illinois Ozarks, most rugged section of Illinois, and then drops to the lowest point in the State, the delta on which stands Cairo, once a busy port at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

American Guide Series - Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide. , p.491

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It is not everyday one would think to walk out to the point where the Ohio River merges into the Mississippi River. The town of Cairo certainly seems it has seen better days, as well as the parking lot at Fort Defiance.

Book: Illinois Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 491 Year Originally Published: 1941

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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/26/2023 KidWrangler visited it