Bubbly Creek is the nickname given to the South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River. It runs entirely within the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It marks the boundary between the Bridgeport and McKinley Park community areas of the city. The creek derives its name from the gases bubbling out of the riverbed from the decomposition of blood and entrails dumped into the river in the early 20th century by the local meatpacking businesses surrounding the Union Stock Yards directly south of the creek's endpoint at Pershing Road. It was brought to notoriety by Upton Sinclair in his exposé on the American meat packing industry titled The Jungle.
Headwaters of Bubbly Creek and the Racine Avenue Pump Station
A man standing on slaughterhouse-derived waste in Bubbly Creek in Chicago in 1911.
Bubbly Creek and Bridgeport Village
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of 156 miles (251 km) that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center. Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chicago Portage is a link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico.
Chicago River at night in August 2015
Aerial view of the North Branch of the Chicago River, from the south, with Goose Island, near center
The Chicago 'L' Ravenswood train (Brown Line) crossing the north branch of the Chicago River
View west along the main stem of the Chicago River from the Outer Drive Bridge, 2009