One of the greatest advantage of Chicago is its ideal geographical location, lying in latitude/longitude 41°53’0 N, 87°39’0 W. It lies on the north east of Illinois State, just below Lake Michigan. As migrants started settling in the area, many of them settled around the mouth of Chicago River for better communication facility.

Chicago has a total area of 606.1 km² and only 588.3 km² covers the land, rest is water. The main city lies on relatively flat land areas which is about 176 meters above sea level. The city is located beside Lake Michigan and two rivers, Chicago River and Calumet, so for transportation its location is very helpful and which has helped the city to grow into a metropolitan center that supplies many major products. 

Like most of the reputations of Midwest cities, Chicago’s climate too is very extreme. In the peak of summer, you will experience some really bad heat waves while in the winter, it’s so very cold. Due to its geographical location, Chicago is placed in the category of continental climate, meaning winters are bitterly cold while summers are quite hot. For those lying closer to the shoreline, its close proximity to Lake Michigan kind of provides a moderating effect. However it also leads to snowfall in winter. The usual average high in summer is recorded at 29°C/ 17°C and in winter, its -2°C/-11°C. It also has the possibility of reaching 40°C in the summer. Also a typical day in Chicago would be sun filled mornings to cloudy or rain filled afternoons to sunny afternoons again and by evening, have a comfortable weather. Another common weather phenomenon of Chicago is its frigid winter. Sometimes the temperature can drop as low as O°F (-18°C) and suddenly it will rise again in the morning. Chicago is also known for blizzards, worse recorded was in the year 1999.

One of the funny things that people mistake about Chicago is its nickname, Windy City. It’s not called so because of its harsh spring and the falls windy climate, but it was rather used by some journalist to depict some very outspoken politicians.

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