The Cache River rises in southern Illinois in Union Countyand flows in a southeasterly direction until it reaches a point in Johnson County near Belknap where it turns south and then bends back to the west-southwest. Another change in direction occurs in western Pulaski County where it takes a southern tack and finally breaks to the southeast before emptying into the Ohio River just south of Mound City. It is the last major tributary of the big river before it merges with the Mississippi River.
