Assiscunk Creek is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...

of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

in southwestern

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in the United States.

Name

The name Assiscunk (also spelled Assiscunke or Essiscunk) came from the

Lenape language The Delaware languages, also known as the Lenape languages (), are Munsee and Unami, two closely related languages of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family. Munsee and Unami were spoken aboriginally by the Lenape ...

meaning "muddy creek". The name of the creek was also applied to the Axion people, a band of

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

Indians who lived in the region until the late 17th century. Other names were Wissahisk River, Birch Creek, and Barracks Creek.

Location

Assiscunk Creek is approximately long, and drains an area of approximately of Burlington County, New Jersey. It originates in Springfield Township, and soon forms the border between Springfield Township and Mansfield Township. It is fed by Annaricken Brook, and then by Crafts Creek just at the

U.S. Route 206 U.S. Route 206 (US 206) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the states of New Jersey, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania. Only about a half a mile (800 m) of its length is in Pennsylvania; the Milford–Monta ...

crossing. Assiscunk Branch and Barkers Brook enter between U.S. Route 206 and the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...

crossing. The creek begins to widen on the outskirts of Burlington City, where it empties into the Delaware River.

Ecology and pollution

Wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

along the creek are habitats for many species, among them the

bog turtle The bog turtle (''Glyptemys muhlenbergii'') is a critically endangered species of semiaquatic turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the eastern United States. It was first scientifically described in 1801 after an 18th-century ...

, which is considered a threatened and endangered species. The creek is designated as suboptimal under Habitat Analysis, and has moderately impaired waters, a major improvement from recent decades when the river was designated as severely impaired or having marginal habitat conditions. Pollution is a problem for the Assiscunk Creek, and much of this comes from non-point sources. The land around the creek is mostly agricultural, but there are areas of urban surfaces and forest as well. Assiscunk Creek is an impaired river but has improved greatly in recent years thanks to hard efforts to stop the pollution.

Tributaries

* Barkers Brook * Assiscunk Branch * Crafts Creek * Annaricken Brook

References

External links