Wheeling Creek is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...
, long, in eastern
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Via the Ohio River, it is part of the
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
, draining an area of on the
unglaciated
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
portion of the
Allegheny Plateau. It flows for its entire length in
Belmont County; its tributaries also drain small areas of south-eastern
Harrison County and south-western
Jefferson County.
Wheeling Creek rises in
Flushing Township just east of the community of
Flushing, and flows generally east through
Union,
Wheeling,
Richland,
Colerain, and
Pease Townships, past the communities of
Lafferty,
Bannock,
Fairpoint
FairPoint Communications, Inc. was headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and operated communication services in 31 markets in 17 states, mostly in rural areas.
FairPoint services include local and long distance phone service, data, Interne ...
,
Maynard,
Barton,
Blaine,
Lansing
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, maki ...
, and
Brookside, to
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...
, where it flows into the Ohio River from the west, just upstream of the mouth of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
's
Wheeling Creek on the opposite bank. The
National Road (
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...
) parallels the stream between Bridgeport and Blaine.
[
]
Flow rate
At its mouth, the estimated mean annual flow volume of Wheeling Creek is .[ The ]United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
operates a stream gauge
A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation (" stage") and/or vo ...
on the creek downstream of Blaine, upstream of the creek's mouth. Between 1984 and 2005, the annual mean flow of the creek at the gauge was 115 cubic feet per second (3 m³/s). The creek's highest flow during the period was 8,500 ft³/s (241 m³/s) on September 17, 2004. The lowest recorded flow was 7 ft³/s (0.2 m³/s) on September 21, 1985.
Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...
, Wheeling Creek has also been known historically as:[
*Indian Wheeling Creek
*Scalp Creek
*Spit Head Creek
*Spithead Creek
]
See also
* List of rivers of Ohio
* Blaine Hill "S" Bridge
References
External links
USGS Real-Time Water Data for Wheeling Creek below Blaine
{{authority control
Rivers of Ohio
Tributaries of the Ohio River
Rivers of Belmont County, Ohio
Allegheny Plateau