Biome+Before+Disaster

=**Illinois Before Flooding:** =

**Illinois has a temperate climate, with cold, snowy winters and hot, wet summers. Mean winter temperatures are 22 degrees Fahrenheit in the north and 37 degrees in the south. Mean summer temperatures are 77 degrees Fahrenheit in the north and 77 degrees in the south. A average of 36 in. of precipitation a year. An annual snowfall of 37 in. is normal for northern Illinois, decreasing to 24 in. or less in the central and southern regions.**


 * Was a host to about 25,000 insects, 3,000 species of plants, 200 species of fish, 100 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, 100 species of amphibians, 79 species of fresh water muscles, and 29 species of crayfish. **

**Elevation: 446 m. (1,463 ft)** **In order to protect the states from flooding, the federal government has built levees 5-7 m high and waterways that release the floodwater laterally in the Gulf of Mexico.**
 * The Mississippi River is the longest river in the US **

