nonnavigable stream in the north central United States, rising in Washington County, eastern Wisconsin, and flowing in a generally southwesterly direction to join the Mississippi at Rock Island, Ill. The 300-mi (480-km) river, which from source to mouth drops about 500 ft (150 m), has small hydropower developments. It drains an area of 10,880 sq mi (28,180 sq km). The bottomlands along the lower course are subject to spring floods and require levee protection. Major cities along its course include Watertown, Janesville, and Beloit, Wis.; and Rockford, Dixon, Sterling, and Rock Island, Ill. Its tributaries are the Pecatonica, Kishwaukee, and Green rivers. On the river bluffs, near Oregon, Ill., in Lowden Memorial State Park, is Lorado Taft's “Black Hawk,” a 48-ft statue of the Indian leader.