The Central Plains: About 90% of Illinois is covered by the Central Plains region. These gently rolling fertile plains were carved and leveled by glaciers during the Ice Age. The Central Plains run from Lake Michigan west and south to cover most of the state and can be divided into three sections; the Great Lakes Plain, the Driftless Plains and the Till Plains.

• The Great Lakes Plains This low flat stretch of land along Lake Michigan develops some small hills north and west of Chicago.
• The Driftless Plains In the northwest corner of Illinois, the Driftless Plains offer the highest elevations in the state. Large hills and valleys are present in this small area of Driftless Plains. This is where Charles Mound, the highest point in Illinois, is located.
• The Till Plains By far the largest section of the Central Plains, the Till Plains offers Illinois' contribution to the Corn Belt. This area of fertile soil typifies the landscape that helped make Illinois one of the top five corn producing states, one of the leading agricultural states in the nation and gave Illinois one of its nicknames; The Prairie State. Some call the Till Plains section of Illinois the Garden Spot of the Nation.

The Shawnee Hills: The Shawnee Hills region stretches across the southern part of Illinois south of the Central Plains. This small strip of land, ranging from five to 40 miles wide and about 70 miles long is characterized by higher elevations (300 to 1,065 feet). The landscape of the Shawnee Hills consists of rivers, valleys and woodland.

The Gulf Coastal: The extreme southern tip of Illinois is covered by the northern reach of the Gulf Coastal Plain that stretches north from the Gulf of Mexico. This is the land between the Ohio River on the east and the Mississippi River on the west and sometimes referred to as "Egypt" because of its resemblance to the Nile Delta. Just south of the Shawnee Hills, the Gulf Coastal Plain tends to be hilly but flattens significantly toward the Illinois border with Kentucky.

( Illinois Close-up )