Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois on the
southwestern shores of Lake Michigan. It is the principal city in Chicago
Metropolitan Area situated in the Midwestern United States and the Great Lakes
region. Chicago rests on a continental divide at the site of the Chicago
Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds. The
city lies beside huge freshwater 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.
