The Mazon River or Mazon Creek (), is a tributary of the Illinois River in the United States. The confluence is near Morris, Illinois.
The Mazon River is associated with the Mazon Creek fossils of the Francis Creek Shale, which are also exposed in strip mines and quarries near the River. This fossil bed includes well-preserved fossils from the Pennsylvanian period of the Paleozoic era and is a world-famous Lagerstätten site.
The Mazon River is approximately in length,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 with the West Fork considered the main branch.
The river was named in honor of William Mason, a pioneer settler.
Cities and counties The following cities, towns and villages are within the Mazon watershed: Braidwood Coal City Dwight Gardner Mazon Morris
The following counties are at least partly drained by the Mazon River: Grundy County Kankakee County Livingston County Will County
See also List of Illinois rivers
References
External links American Whitewater
Field Museum Collection, Mazon Creek Fossils Illinois State Museum, Mazon Creek Fossil Collection Prairie Rivers Network USGS Real-time Stream Gage Mazon River Upper Illinois/Mazon River watershed map (PDF)