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() is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is adjacent to O'Hare International Airport. The Des Plaines River runs through the city, just east of its downtown area. Des Plaines is a very economically diverse city, with home values ranging from $30,000 to more than $1,000,000.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.5 square miles (37.6 km²).Of this, 14.4 square miles (37.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (0.76%) is water. Des Plaines is traversed by two interstate highways - I-90 Northwest Tollway and I-294 Tri-State Tollway.
Des Plaines is named for the Des Plaines River, which flows through it. The name is French, "of the plains."
Portions of Des Plaines are underlain by the "Des Plaines Disturbance," an area in which the layers of sedimentary rock are highly abnormal. This probably represents an ancient meteor crater, 75 to 200 feet beneath the town. The bedrock was highly fractured by the impact, with large blocks of sediment upended. The crater was eventually filled by glacial activity, so that no trace now remains on the surface.
Addresses in the city limits of Des Plaines have their own numbering system. Areas in unincorporated Maine Township have Des Plaines postal addresses that follow the Chicago numbering system. Devon Avenue in Des Plaines is 3200 South while it is 6400 North in Chicago. Golf Road runs through a large unincorporated area as 9600 North with a Des Plaines mailing address but is 0 North/South when entering the Des Plaines city limits. As sections become incorporated, they take on the city numbering system. For instance in 2003, land at 9661 West Golf Road, Des Plaines, became 2323 East Golf Road, Des Plaines, when it was formally incorporated into the city limits. The largest unincorporated areas are in the O'Hare area and east of the Tri-State Tollway.