芝加哥(Chicago)

美国伊利诺州东北部城市。位於密西根湖西南部尖端，有芝加哥河流经，港口设备广大。1673年法国探险者发现了一条印第安人水路搬运线，该搬运线自一条河流入密西根湖、直达密西西比河流域。1803年建造的第波恩堡在1812年一次印第安人袭击中被毁。1848年联接大湖区和密西西比河系统的伊利诺-密西根运河竣工，实现了芝加哥作为水运通道的潜在地理优势，到1856年芝加哥已成为全国主要的铁路中心。1871年芝加哥（包括商业区）被大火焚毁，1893年世界哥伦比亚博览会在此举办。19世纪末这里是钢铁结构摩天大楼的诞生地，多由杰出的建筑师设计，如沙利文、莱特和密斯.范.德.罗厄。1942年芝加哥大学的核子科学家第一次在此进行自续链式核反应。第二次世界大战後，该市历经另一波建筑风潮，但就如其他大城市一样，人口逐渐减少，而郊区人口成长。现为美国第三大城市，为主要的工业、商业和运输中心，也是芝加哥商品交易所和芝加哥商业交易所的所在地。市内有几所博物馆和芝加哥美术馆。人口︰市约2,802,079（1998）；都会区约7,541,468（1992）。

English version：

Chicago

City (pop., 1996: 2,722,000), northeastern Illinois. Located on Lake Michigan, with the Chicago River flowing through it, Chicago has extensive port facilities. In the 17th century the name was associated with a portage between the Des Plaines and Chicago rivers connecting the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River. Fort Dearborn was built in 1803 on a tract acquired from Indians. It expanded rapidly after the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (1848), which connected the Chicago and Mississippi rivers, and also became the nation's chief rail center. Rebuilt quickly after a hugely destructive fire in 1871, it was the site of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. It was the birthplace of the steel-frame skyscraper in the late 19th century, and it boasts designs by eminent architects, including Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Nuclear scientists produced the first nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago in 1942. After World War II the city underwent another building boom, but as in other large cities its population subsequently dropped as its suburbs grew. The 3d largest U.S. city, it is a major industrial, commercial, and transportation center and is the site of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. Several museums and the Art Institute of Chicago are located there.

参考文章

• 芝加哥和“五一”国际劳动节、“三八”国际劳动妇女节有何联系？地理知识
• 美国伊利诺伊州库克县芝加哥的历史沿革专项地理