This gallery talks about the river from both a historical perspective, and also about the river as a means of transportation and a big part of the economy. The gallery begins with a historical look at how the river was formed 15,000 years ago and about the people who lived here in prehistoric times. The kankakee torrent was a geological event 15,000 years ago. At the time, this was in a time of great glaciers. There was a glacier lake around what is now chicago and michigan. That glacial lake burst its dam. So most of the water would have come through the base or overthetop. And it rushed down the Illinois River valley, carving out a rock. Even people who are from illinois dont realize why there is a canyon like structure there. It was from the phenomenally powerful rush of glacial water coming down Central Illinois and carving out the canyons. The people who lived here, there are a number of different period we talk about. We talk about the paleo indians who lived here 12,000 years ag