Zoar Valley is an area of deep

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

s along the Main and South branches of

Cattaraugus Creek Cattaraugus Creek is a stream, approximately long, in western New York in the United States.New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The valley is located along the border of Erie County and

Cattaraugus County Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was created ...

, roughly between the villages of Gowanda to the west and Springville to the east. The core area surrounding the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the Cattaraugus Creek's Main and South branches is protected as the Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area, a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

located within the towns of Collins,

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

, and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The protected area is managed by the

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protecti ...

, and is open to the public for fishing, hunting, hiking, white-water rafting, and wildlife and scenic viewing. Canyon depths within the Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area are the greatest within the entire Cattaraugus Creek corridor, ranging up to along the South Branch and along the Main Branch. Several nearly vertical rock faces approach in height. The property also contains large stands of

old-growth forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

with trees of unusual size and height, which are further protected as part of the state-designated Zoar Valley Unique Area.

Geography and geology

Zoar Valley is located along the border of Erie County and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, roughly between the villages of Gowanda to the west and Springville to the east.

Cattaraugus Creek Cattaraugus Creek is a stream, approximately long, in western New York in the United States.Cattaraugus. The cliffs along Zoar Valley's gorges are composed of

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

silt stones and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

, and are part of the Canadaway Formation. The valley's gorges expose stratifications of the

Onondaga Escarpment The Onondaga Limestone is a group of hard limestones and dolomites of Devonian age that forms geographic features in some areas in which it outcrops; in others, especially its Southern Ontario portion, the formation can be less prominent as a lo ...

. Cliffs near the

of Cattaraugus Creek's South and Main branches reach heights of up to when measured to the tops of nearby hills.

History

Zoar Valley was named by Ahaz Allen, an early 19th-century settler of the region. The name is of biblical origin, referring to the city of Zoar from the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

. The extent of Zoar Valley's use by Native Americans is unclear due to subsequent disturbance by farming and settlement activities; however, findings from nearby archaeological sites suggest that indigenous peoples likely made use of the area. Evidence of early use by settlers includes records of farming as early as 1842, in addition to evidence of

mining and the establishment of two

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can tak ...

s during the early 1800s. Sawmills, gas wells, and a cheese factory were also established in the valley during the 19th century. A

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

camp was formerly located near the confluence, and a

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** ...

was used to cross Cattaraugus Creek. Foundations of several camp buildings remain visible. The Niagara, Lockport and Ontario Power Company purchased property near the confluence in 1926, with the intention of building a

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

in the valley. However, the brittleness of the valley's shale cliffs was found to be unsuitable for construction of the dam, and the project was abandoned. State ownership within the valley began in 1961 with the gift of by Herbert F. Darling Sr., who had purchased land from the

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation was a New York State utility company, which was acquired in 2000 by National Grid plc. The Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation designation was retired, using variations of NationalGridUS (such as National Grid Buffa ...

in 1952 with the intention of preserving the property. Additional lands were later added under the 1960 Multiple Use Bond Act. For a time in the 1960s, a

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

commune was located within the valley. By 1971, overnight use of the property was prohibited due to "irresponsible behavior on the part of some campers".

Land management

The state-managed Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area encompasses a area along an section of the

Cattaraugus Creek Cattaraugus Creek is a stream, approximately long, in western New York in the United States.New York State Department of Environmental Conservation The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protecti ...

. In 2007, the state established the Zoar Valley Unique Area, a area which further protects and preserves the entire state-owned length of the gorge's cliffs and bottomlands, in addition to a buffer area along the gorge's upper rim and along several larger side creeks, where sufficient state-owned land is available. The Unique Area contains the majority of the currently known or suspected

, all of the riverside floodplain and terrace woodlands, as well as all of the slope, cliff and talus plant communities. Within the Unique Area, activities such as logging and gas drilling are prohibited. Prior to being designated as a Unique Area, the old-growth forest within the state-owned portion of Zoar Valley was at danger of being logged; the additional protection was the result of lobbying by activists and local residents. Traditional natural resource management activities, including logging, are permitted to take place outside of the Unique Area. Approximately of

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

forests were established within the Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area during the 1960s and 1970s. Most are composed of non-native

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

s, although several native

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

plantations are present as well. Modern timber harvests by the state are intended to encourage native species growth and improve wildlife habitat. An

American chestnut The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the Fagaceae, beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in the genus ''Chestnut, Castanea'', the American chestnut produces Bur ...

plantation is also maintained as a joint venture with the

American Chestnut Foundation The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is a nonprofit American organization dedicated to breeding a blight-resistant American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') tree and to the reintroduction of this tree to the forests of the Eastern United ...

, with the goal of developing

chestnut blight The pathogenic fungus ''Cryphonectria parasitica'' (formerly ''Endothia parasitica'') is a member of the Ascomycota (sac fungi). This necrotrophic fungus is native to East Asia and South East Asia and was introduced into Europe and North America ...

-resistant trees. Additional protected lands within Zoar Valley include

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

Deer Lick Nature Sanctuary Deer Lick Nature Sanctuary is a protected forest and gorge in Cattaraugus County, New York. The preserve is within Zoar Valley near Gowanda, and is managed by The Nature Conservancy. History Deer Lick Nature Sanctuary was created by a don ...

, which preserves of old-growth forest and was designated as a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

in 1967. The sanctuary is located along the Cattaraugus Creek's South Branch, adjacent to the Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area. Two other privately owned conservation areas, the William P. Alexander Preserve and the Rodger Sweetland Memorial Preserve, are owned by the Nature Sanctuary Society of Western New York. Outside of these protected areas, old-growth forests in the valley are unprotected, and some have been

clearcut Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fore ...

in recent years.

Ecology

Old-growth forests

Forests within Zoar Valley include some of the finest old-growth stands in the eastern United States. Throughout Zoar Valley, a total of of old-growth forest has been recorded; of this, nearly are found within the Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area, with an additional located in the adjacent Deer Lick Nature Sanctuary. Most of the old growth is found within the Main Branch canyon, with only a few narrow corridors along steep ravines of several larger side streams. Some upland forests within the state lands are very mature in character, but these experienced timber harvesting in the 19th century and light management cutting by the state in the 1970s and 1980s. Zoar Valley's old growth is primarily

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, and varies in character and

species composition Relative species abundance is a component of biodiversity and is a measure of how common or rare a species is relative to other species in a defined location or community.Hubbell, S. P. 2001. ''The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeog ...

depending upon location and landform characteristics.

Northern hardwood The northern hardwood forest is a general type of North American forest ecosystem found over much of southeastern and south-central Canada, Ontario, and Quebec, extending south into the United States in northern New England, New York (state), Ne ...

stands, including

eastern hemlock ''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...

American beech American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

yellow birch ''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the p ...

northern red oak ''Quercus rubra'', the northern red oak, is an oak tree in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It has been intro ...

, and

tulip tree ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

, are widespread, especially on mesic north-facing slopes and on the lower reaches of south-facing slopes. Similar stands are found on the raised terraces within the canyon, where old-growth trees have been noted to achieve great size, both in terms of height and diameter (typically expressed as

diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...

BH a standard measurement taken above the tree's base). On drier, south-facing slopes, old-growth trees such as

chestnut oak ''Quercus montana'', the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest to ...

display stunted growth despite their age.

Bottomland forests

Zoar Valley's most renowned forest stands may be those found on raised terraces along Cattaraugus Creek, which includes an area of large-tree old-growth known colloquially as "The Gallery of the Giants". The river within the Main Branch canyon is bordered by a

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripari ...

that is sufficiently large to include landforms ranging from young

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

s recently colonized by woody

pioneer species Pioneer species are resilient species that are the first to colonize barren environments, or to repopulate disrupted biodiverse steady-state ecosystems as part of ecological succession. Various kinds of events can create good conditions for pi ...

to centuries-old upper terraces containing continuous stands of large old-growth trees. Hemlock/northern hardwood stands are present and joined by additional

mesophytic Mesophytes are terrestrial plants which are adapted to neither particularly dry nor particularly wet environments. An example of a mesophytic habitat would be a rural temperate meadow, which might contain goldenrod, clover, oxeye daisy, and '' Ros ...

plant communities such as beech-maple and maple-basswood forests. There are also several bottomland groves of large and aging eastern cottonwood,

American sycamore ''Platanus occidentalis'', also known as American sycamore, American planetree, western plane, occidental plane, buttonwood, and water beech, is a species of ''Platanus'' native to the eastern and central United States, the mountains of northeast ...

, and

American elm ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. The trees can live for several hundred years. It is a very hardy species that can ...

which are likely remnants of earlier floodplain stands. An isolated sycamore, now embedded within later successional beech-maple woodlands, has been core dated to 359 years. Species diversity along the canyon bottom is among the highest in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

, with more than 20 species occurring in upper-terrace old growth and approximately 10 more largely restricted to younger floodplains and/or lower terraces. Tree diameters and, especially, heights are superlative. Numerous species exceed DBH, and a dozen or more represent the tallest of their kind in New York State or in the entire Northeast. Most of the gorge's canopy species reach , however several species and individual trees attain greater heights: *Tulip tree reaches nearly , and sycamores reach . *Several white ash, bitternut hickory, and

exceed and a half-dozen more top . *

Hop hornbeam ''Ostrya'' is a genus of eight to 10 small deciduous trees belonging to the birch family Betulaceae. Common names include hop-hornbeam and hophornbeam. It may also be called ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants. The genus is na ...

and

shadblow ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a ...

(under- to mid-story trees) reach - a common canopy height for much of the East's second growth. *A specimen of

American basswood ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the Family (biology), family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the ...

, a species whose range does not extend to the southern

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

where most of the East's tallest trees reside, may be the tallest of the species. *A by DBH American elm, apparently unaffected by Dutch elm disease, may be the largest forest-grown elm in the Northeast.

Slope forests

Chestnut Oak Zoar Valley Knife Edge Ridge

Trees growing on the slopes are generally moderate in size; most are less than DBH, although scattered trees can be much larger. Despite their moderate size, many trees are exceptionally old. An eastern hemlock of only DBH has been core dated to 410 years at breast height and may be 450 to 500 years at ground level. These slope woodlands present an impressive and ancient aesthetic, but few stands can be visited directly as most slopes are too dangerous to traverse. An interesting and likewise very old forest is found on the exposed and sun-baked upper reaches of south-facing slopes, which are quite

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habita ...

despite the humid regional climate. Here are found diminutive and gnarled

, northern red oak, and

red pine ''Pinus resinosa'', known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to Eastern North America. Description Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from in heigh ...

that are typically less than tall and in diameter. Despite their small size these trees can exceed 165 years at breast height.

Rivers and streams

Cattaraugus Creek is a fifth to sixth-order stream (depending upon the exact delineation of headwater tributaries), and is the largest tributary to eastern

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

. Flow is highly variable, and can range from typical summer lows of less than to floods exceeding . The river is safe to cross at low flows but rapidly becomes treacherous as water rises. Ecological integrity and environmental health of the Cattaraugus are generally good. The river edge and immediate riparian zone are largely intact for most of the river's length. There is only one dam on the main stream, located within

Scoby Dam Park Scoby Power Plant and Dam is a historic dam and now defunct power plant located between the towns of Ashford and Concord, near Springville, New York. The complex is located on the eastern bank of Cattaraugus Creek outside Springville. It is ...

about upstream from the Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area. Although a barrier to fish, it does not regulate flow.

Sediment load {{page numbers needed, date=November 2020 Stream load is a geologic term referring to the solid matter carried by a stream (Strahler and Strahler, 2006). Erosion and bed shear stress continually remove mineral material from the bed and banks of ...

and

siltation Siltation is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary o ...

are Cattaraugus Creek's main environmental issues, and the stream regularly experiences elevated

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wa ...

due to suspended sediments. Some of this sediment load is derived from silt/clay

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

s common along the river, but some likely stems from agricultural activities. As is the case with many streams draining agricultural lands,

fecal coliform A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non- sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...

levels can be elevated at high flows. During summer storm events, especially after a prolonged dry period, bacterial levels can exceed 10,000

colony forming units In microbiology, a colony-forming unit (CFU, cfu or Cfu) is a unit which estimates the number of microbial cells (bacteria, fungi, viruses etc.) in a sample that are viable, able to multiply via binary fission under the controlled conditions. Coun ...

(cfu); bacterial levels are low most other times. Zoar Valley cascade

Numerous small waterfalls cascade into the Zoar Valley canyon. Most are cascades, but there are a few straight drops of greater than . Above the falls are dozens of small headwater streams that drain the surrounding uplands. These streams and the Cattaraugus Creek were extensively disturbed by an intense

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

in August 2009.

Recreation

Zoar Valley is a popular regional destination for outdoor recreation. The Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area is open to the public for activities including fishing, hunting, hiking, white-water rafting, and nature study. The area is closed between sunset and sunrise, and camping is not permitted on the property. As the area is not officially a park, there are few safety barriers in place to prevent falls into the gorge. The area is known for occasional deaths, injuries and rescues, often for visitors unfamiliar with the dangers of the rugged landscape. Many injuries occur on private lands adjacent to the state-owned area; as such, neighboring landowners have become increasingly intolerant of trespassers, while the state has increased patrols and arrests for trespassing and other prohibited behavior. Only one hiking trail is officially maintained within the Multiple Use Area. The Holcomb Pond Trail links two separate parking areas on Vail Road, and traverses through forest and along the gorge edge in the northern section of the property. Unofficial and unmarked trails can be found throughout the property, including a trail to access the gorge's bottom that begins at the parking area on Valentine Flats Road. Additional parking areas are located on Button Road and Forty Road.

Sportfishing

Cattaraugus Creek is a noted

steelhead trout Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacif ...

stream, ranked ninth-best east of the Rocky Mountains by '' American Angler'' magazine in 2006. Native

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

are also regularly caught. Both fish successfully spawn in the river and/or its tributaries. In 2015, Cattaraugus Creek was stocked with 30,000 steelhead and 7,840

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

; an additional 1,030 brown trout were stocked in the creek's South Branch that year as well. Additional fishing opportunities within the Multiple Use Area are available at Holcomb Pond and Ross Pond. Anglers primarily target steelhead between September and May, and brown trout between September and December, at which time these fish enter the stream to complete their annual spawning runs.

Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon (or "silvers") and is often ...

, and

pink salmon Pink salmon or humpback salmon (''Oncorhynchus gorbuscha'') is a species of euryhaline ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the type species of the genus ''Oncorhynchus'' (Pacific salmon), and is the smallest and most abundant of t ...

may be caught during the fall as well, however these fish have not been stocked for many years and their small populations are the result of limited natural reproduction.

Whitewater rafting

The valley also supports

whitewater rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

when water levels are sufficient. The Main Branch offers

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

II and III rapids, while the South Branch includes class II, III and IV rapids, depending on water level. A designated put-in for the Main Branch is maintained at a state fishing access site on North Otto Road; access to the South Branch requires permission from private landowners. The take out is located downstream of the Aldrich Street bridge in Gowanda.

References

External links

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation: Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area

All About Zoar Valley - A Western New York Gem
{{Protected areas of Erie County, New York Protected areas of Cattaraugus County, New York Protected areas of Erie County, New York New York state multiple use areas New York (state) unique areas Valleys of New York (state)

Geography and geology

History

Land management

Ecology

Old-growth forests

Bottomland forests

Slope forests

Rivers and streams

Recreation

Sportfishing

Whitewater rafting

See also

References

External links