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Geography
Geography
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Topography
Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan.
It sits on the continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds.
The city lies beside Lake Michigan, and two rivers — the Chicago River in downtown and the Calumet River in the industrial far South Side — flow entirely or partially through Chicago.
The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River, which runs to the west of the city.
Chicago's history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to Lake Michigan.
While the Chicago River historically handled much of the region's waterborne cargo, today's huge lake freighters use the city's far south Lake Calumet Harbor.
The Lake also moderates Chicago's climate, making it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
When Chicago was founded in the 1830s, most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks.
The overall grade of the city's central, built-up areas, is relatively consistent with the natural flatness of its overall natural geography, generally exhibiting only slight differentiation otherwise.
The average land elevation is 579 feet (176 m) above sea level.
The lowest points are along the lake shore at 577 feet (176 m), while the highest point at 735 feet (224 m) is a landfill located in the Hegewisch community area on the city's far south side.
Lake Shore Drive runs adjacent to a large portion of Chicago's lakefront.
Parks along the lakeshore include Lincoln Park, Grant Park, Burnham Park and Jackson Park; 29 public beaches are found all along the shore.
Near downtown, landfills extend into the Lake, providing space for the Jardine Water Purification Plant, Navy Pier, Northerly Island and the Museum Campus, Soldier Field, and large portions of the McCormick Place Convention Center.
Most of the city's high-rise commercial and residential buildings can be found within a few blocks of the Lake.
Chicagoland is an informal name for the Chicago metro area, used primarily by copywriters, advertising agencies, and traffic reporters.
There is no precise definition for the term "Chicagoland," but it generally means "around Chicago" or relatively local.
The Chicago Tribune, which coined the term, includes the city of Chicago, the rest of Cook County, eight nearby Illinois counties; Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Grundy, Will and Kankakee, and two counties in Indiana; Lake and Porter.
The Illinois Department of Tourism defines Chicagoland as Cook County without the city of Chicago, and only Lake, DuPage, Kane and Will counties.
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce defines it as all of Cook, and DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
Climate
The city lies within the humid continental climate zone (Koppen Dfa), and experiences four distinct seasons.
Summers are warm & humid with average high temperatures of 80-84°F (27-29°C) and lows of 61-65 °F (16-19°C).
Winters are cold, snowy and windy with temperatures below freezing.
Spring and Fall are mild with low humidity.
According to the National Weather Service, Chicago’s highest official temperature reading of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded on July 17, 1995.
The lowest temperature of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded on January 20, 1985.
Chicago’s yearly precipitation averages about 34 inches (860 millimeters).
Summer is typically the rainiest season, with short-lived rainfall and thunderstorms more common than prolonged rainy periods.
Winter precipitation tends to be more snow than rain.
Chicago's snowiest winter on record was that of 1929–30, with 114.2 inches (290 cm) of snow in total.
Chicago’s highest one-day rainfall total was 6.63 inches (168.4mm) on September 13, 2008. The previous record of 6.49 inches (164 mm) had been set on August 14, 1987.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
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