elevation (Chicago, Evanston, Wilmette: live in, price, suburbs)

[cvanripe10]

Is it true that chicagoland is completely flat??? No hills, dips, drop offs, ect?? nothing??

I'm outside of NYC right now and am trying to get because it's very congested and very overpriced. But here we have nice rolling hills and small mountains to the north.

[Drover]

This topic was recently discussed in this thread.

[via chicago]

chicago proper, for all intents and purposes, yes is entirely flat. glaciers did their work a long time ago.

[irish setter girl]

Yes, chicago overall is flat. If you want anything rolling you need to travel west to the Galena area or to southern IL. I love the picture in the previous post!!

[DocFeetz]

I grew up in the near western suburbs and we always thought Ridgeland Avenue was the closest thing to a hill in our area. Riis Park sits on that, and provided the only sled hill in our area. But there are a few other slight hills or ridges in Chicago. Most of them are old shorelines of Lake Michigan from the days of the glaciers, when the lake was much bigger. Clark Street, Ridgeland, and LaGrange Road in LaGrange Park (and Bluff Avenue in LaGrange) all mark old shorelines. There's also a slight rise along Harlem Avenue north of 47th Street running northeast into Stickney that marks the old Chicago Portage route along the northern shore of Mud Lake (long gone, now the Stevenson Expressway). The southern counterpart is along Archer Avenue in Garfield Ridge.

These hills aren't much to look at, but they're all that the glaciers left us after they scoured the whole area. The Palos forest preserves have some good hills, out near Willow Springs (Which used to be called Mount Forest). The DesPlaines River valley isn't much of a valley, but it's something. Blue Island and Dan Ryan Woods are also old hills that marked the edges of the channels that drained the old glacial lake. All that water draining out is what shaped the Illinois River Valley around Starved Rock, and left those neat sandstone bluffs.

[Manigault]

Good recapitulation but you forgot Morgan Park. There is an actual incline there from Vincennes up to Western (I wouldn't call it a hill). The flatness is why Chicago is a bicycle and stick shift paradise. Indicentally, there are flatter counties than Cook in IL.

Other notable inclines include Sheridan Road above Wilmette and the large mound in the park in southwest Evanston.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by cvanripe10

Is it true that chicagoland is completely flat??? No hills, dips, drop offs, ect?? nothing??

I'm outside of NYC right now and am trying to get because it's very congested and very overpriced. But here we have nice rolling hills and small mountains to the north.

Sadly enough NO Chicago has no rolling hills or anything like that. Here are some video links so you can see what it looks like.


YouTube - Driving towards Chicago


YouTube - driving in chicago july 2006 3

Here you can see Chicago looks very similar to Brooklyn or even Philly.
YouTube - driving in chicago

Here is an EXCELLENT video showing the topography of the area from above!!!
YouTube - Plane Landing At Chicago O'Hare Airport And another cleary showing what Chicago is famed for (Rail industry of which you will see at about 1:20)
YouTube - Landing in Chicago

And lastly, a view I think everyone from this area can relate to from having visited this park at one point or another
YouTube - Six Flags Great America View

[nanannie]

I live in Barrington Hills.My 'hood is very hilly with lovely views.That being said, no hills to match the "hills" south and western USA,but it is indeed very hilly,tough on the bike riders.

[cvanripe10]

dont you get bored when all there is to do is social interaction??? No outdoor recreation?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by cvanripe10

dont you get bored when all there is to do is social interaction??? No outdoor recreation?

Of course not. If we want outdoor recreation, we invade Wisconsin on the weekends, to the great annoyance of the locals up there. Or, for those who live on the South side or South suburbs, it's a Michigan invasion instead.