Otter Kill is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed October 3, 2011

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 ...

Moodna Creek Moodna Creek is a small tributary of the Hudson River that drains eastern Orange County, New York. At 15.5 miles (25 km)Nolan, J. Kelly; April 2004; ; Hudson Basin River Watch; retrieved June 29, 2007. in length from its source at ...

that flows through central

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

, in the United States. Via the Moodna, which it forms at a confluence with Cromline Creek north of the village of Washingtonville, its waters eventually reach the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. The Otter Kill flows primarily through rural, undeveloped areas of the towns of Goshen, Hamptonburgh and Blooming Grove. Development pressures in those areas have led the state Department of Environmental Conservation to classify it and a major tributary,

Black Meadow Creek Black Meadow Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Otter Kill in Orange County, New York, in the United States. Via the Otter Kill, it ...

, as threatened streams.

Course

The Otter Kill traces a semicircular route through the northwestern Moodna valley. It rises from the north end of Goshen's Reservoir #2 and flows generally in that direction, under

NY 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and follows the Southern T ...

. Two miles from its source, in the swamps east of the village of Goshen, it receives its largest tributary,

. It continues in the same direction, through more swamps surrounded by farmland, into the town of Hamptonburgh. Just east of the Campbell Hall

Metro-North Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...

station, the stream begins to bend toward the east. After crossing under the tracks and then NY 207 just east of the hamlet of Campbell Hall, the largest settlement the Otter comes near, it widens and turns even more sharply to the east, paralleling Route 207. Moodna Creek source

At Brown's Pond near the hamlet of Rock Tavern, it goes over a small dam, crosses under Routes 207 and

208 Year 208 ( CCVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Geta (or, less frequently, year 961 ''Ab urbe condita' ...

, then turns to the south, paralleling the latter highway. It crosses under the

Port Jervis Line The Port Jervis Line is a predominantly single-track commuter rail line running between Suffern and Port Jervis, in the U.S. state of New York. At Suffern, the line continues south into New Jersey as NJ Transit's Main Line. The line is operate ...

once again. Just after flowing under Route 208 again at an eastward bend of the highway, it meets Cromline Creek and the two continue as

to the Hudson at

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

References

{{authority control Rivers of New York (state) Goshen, New York Rivers of Orange County, New York Tributaries of the Hudson River