Chicago is located on the shores of two of the Great Lakes.
Chicago . Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 , near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed , and grew rapidly in the mid-nineteenth century . Positioned along Lake Michigan , the city is an international hub for finance , commerce , industry , technology , telecommunications , and transportation : O'Hare International Airport is the second-busiest airport in the world when measured by aircraft traffic ; the region also has the largest number of U.S. highways and rail road freight .