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[ Illinois Scenes Index ]

The Wind Turbines at Tiskilwa


Tiskilwa is a small town situated along Bureau Creek, a few miles South of Princeton.  The turbines are located just SW of town atop the Providence Moraine, an end moraine of the Wisconsin glaciation period (the most recent).  The area can be reached by driving West on Kentville Road (700N), which can be accessed from interstate 180 or Hwy 29 at the point where those routes intersect.  The orange dot on this ISGS surface toplogy map of Bureau County marks the location of the wind turbines and provides an interesting view of the regional topography.  The project to erect and manage the turbines is called the Crescent Ridge Wind Power Project.  The scenic Hennepin Canal runs close to Bureau Creek in this area.  The turbines, the canal, and the shops of nearby Princeton make for an interesting day trip. For more information about this and other wind power projects in Illinois, and Illinois geology, visit the Great Plains Windustry Project and the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS).


On Kentville Road looking West from about 1900E.  The moraine is somewhat terraced on its Eastern and Northern slopes, a result of staged glacial retreat during deposition of the till.

Looking East along Kenville Road, not quite at the top of the slope.

View to the West from road 1725E, several miles away from the turbines.

The same view as the previous photograph, except focused on the nearby fence.

This view of one turbine and my car parked next to the support base (inset) shows the immense size of these things.  Each tower is anchored to a 6-foot thick concrete slab 24 feet below the surface.
      
The base and top of a turbine photographed from the same spot.  The middle 1/3 of the tower is not included in these two views.




View through the haze from North of Bureau Creek on road 1250N, looking South.  The turbines are about 5 miles away.

On road 1000N looking South.  The elevation at the camera is about 850 feet.  The highest elevation among the turbines is a bit over 950 feet.

View to the North from the same spot as the previous photo.




MPEG video (5.1 Mb)
Click to download

MPEG video (7.2 Mb)
Click to download

MPEG video (5.3 Mb)
Click to download.  You can hear the blades swooshing through the air in this one.