For a traveler not experienced with the Great Lakes region, the idea of "Chicago" may invoke images of a landlocked, scaled-down version of America's coastal metropolises. Even casual visitors to the Windy City sometimes depart with the impression that the small, tourist-friendly network of attractions at the city's very core constitutes the extent of its offerings. In reality, the Chicago area, or "Chicagoland", as many call it, extends for more than fifty miles North, West, South, and Southeast from its center, across forests, prairies, shorelines, and river valleys, spanning portions of three states, twelve counties, and hundreds of municipalities, with more than nine million people making it their home; the metropolis includes at least seven Illinois Counties: Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, Will, and Kendall.