Peoria, Illinois in the context of Glasford

The Illinois River (Miami-Illinois: Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately 273 miles (439 km) in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of 28,756.6 square miles (74,479 km). The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines and Kankakee rivers in the Chicago metropolitan area, and it generally flows to the southwest across Illinois, until it empties into the Mississippi near Grafton, Illinois. Its drainage basin extends into southeastern Wisconsin, northwestern Indiana, and a very small area of southwestern Michigan in addition to central Illinois. Along its banks are several river ports, including the largest, Peoria, Illinois. Historic and recreation areas on the river include Starved Rock, and the internationally important wetlands of the Emiquon Complex and Dixon Waterfowl Refuge.

The river was important among Native Americans and French traders as the principal water route connecting the Great Lakes with the Mississippi. The French colonial settlements along these rivers formed the heart of the area known as the Illinois Country in the 17th and 18th centuries. After the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Hennepin Canal in the 19th century, the role of the river as link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi was extended into the era of modern industrial shipping. The Illinois now forms the basis for the Illinois Waterway, extending the river's capabilities for navigation and commercial shipping.

Midland American English is a regional dialect or supradialect of American English, geographically lying between the traditionally defined Northern and Southern United States. The boundaries of Midland American English are not entirely clear, being revised and reduced by linguists due to definitional changes and several Midland sub-regions undergoing rapid and diverging pronunciation shifts since the early-middle 20th century onwards.

As of the early 21st century, these general characteristics of the Midland regional accent are firmly established: fronting of the /oʊ/, /aʊ/, and /ʌ/ vowels occurs towards the center or even the front of the mouth; the cot–caught merger is neither fully completed nor fully absent; and short-a tensing evidently occurs strongest before nasal consonants. The currently documented core of the Midland dialect region spans from central Ohio at its eastern extreme to central Nebraska and Oklahoma City at its western extreme. Certain areas outside the core also clearly demonstrate a Midland accent, including Charleston, South Carolina; the Texan cities of Abilene, Austin, and Corpus Christi; and central and some areas of southern Florida.

Quincy (/ˈkwɪnsi/ KWIN-see) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy micropolitan area had 114,649 residents.

Known as Illinois's "Gem City", Quincy was a thriving transportation center as riverboats and rail service linked the city to many destinations west and along the river during the 19th century. It was Illinois' second-largest city, surpassing Peoria in 1870. The city has several historic districts, including the Downtown Quincy Historic District and the South Side German Historic District, which display the architecture of Quincy's many German immigrants from the late 19th century.

Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the Heart of Illinois, it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agriculture, particularly corn and soybeans, as well as educational institutions and manufacturing centers, figure prominently.

A total of 45 counties are typically considered to be within Central Illinois, with a population of 1,874,635 as of the 2020 U.S. census. Major cities include Peoria, Springfield (the state capital), Decatur, Quincy, Champaign–Urbana, Bloomington–Normal, Galesburg, and Danville.

The Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Springfield. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 201,437 (though a July 1, 2009 estimate placed the population at 208,182).

Metropolitan Springfield is southwest of Chicago, south of Peoria, southwest of Bloomington, west-southwest Champaign, and west of Decatur.

Bicycle culture are unwritten rules, social norms, values and infrastructure that support cyclists and shape how cycling takes place. It can refer to a mainstream culture that supports the use of bicycles or to a subculture. Although "bike culture" is often used to refer to various forms of associated fashion, it is erroneous to call fashion in and of itself a culture.

Cycling culture refers to cities and countries which support a large percentage of utility cycling. Examples include the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Belgium (Flanders in particular), Sweden, Italy, China, Bangladesh and Japan. There are also towns in some countries where bicycle culture has been an integral part of the landscape for generations, even without much official support. That is the case of Ílhavo, in Portugal. North American cities with strong bicycle cultures include Madison, Portland, San Francisco, Little Rock, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Lincoln, Peoria, and the Twin Cities. In Latin America, Bogotá is often regarded as one of the most bike-friendly cities.

Henri de Tonti (born Enrico Tonti; c. 1649 – September 1704) was an Italian-born French military officer and explorer who assisted René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle during the French colonization of the Americas from 1678 to 1686. de Tonti was one of the first explorers to navigate and sail the upper Great Lakes. He also sailed the Illinois and the Mississippi, to its mouth and thereupon claimed the length of the Mississippi for Louis XIV of France. He is credited with founding the settlement that would become Peoria, Illinois. De Tonti established the first permanent European settlement in the lower Mississippi valley, known as Poste de Arkansea, making him "The Father of Arkansas".

Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria metropolitan area.