Field Museum of Natural History

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after Los Angeles and New York City. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County. Chicago was... incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is a major, alpha+ global city, ranking seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index, and retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008, the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, the Chicago area has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product in the world. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.
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