Black Meadow Creek is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the
Otter Kill in
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a List of counties in New York, county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen (village), New York, Goshen. This count ...
, in the United States. Via the Otter Kill, it is part of the
Moodna Creek
Moodna Creek () is a small tributary of the Hudson River that drains eastern Orange County, New York, Orange County, New York (state), New York. At 15.5 miles (25 km)Nolan, J. Kelly; April 2004; ; Hudson Basin River Watch; retriev ...
watershed, flowing onward to the
Hudson River
The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
, in one of
New York State
New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
's most biodiverse natural areas. Home to 13 species of
salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...
as well as to New York's largest population of the
Northern Cricket Frog (''Acris c. crepitans''), the state's only listed "Endangered" frog species, the creek area is considered by biologists to be one of the state's herpetological "hot spots". Black Meadow Creek has several confirmed
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...
nests along its length.
Roughly 1/2 of the creek's length runs through a reservoir preserve owned by Orange County. This preserve status is credited with maintaining the upper creek's floodplain in its natural state for over one century.
Black Meadow Creek begins in the town of
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
, near
Glenmere Lake, and flows north into the town of
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
before converging with the Otter Kill in the
village of Chester. Studies of the creek and its watershed are conducted by the nonprofit and the nonprofi
Glenmere Conservation Coalition which maintain a small launch and study area on the creek.
The creek was named for the expansive, dark, forested swamp that settlers found along its floodplain, most of which was transformed into agricultural areas by the mid 19th century. Its floodplain hosts the Black Meadow Hunting Club, the Straub Farm and the Chester Industrial Park at its confluence with the Otter Kill.
See also
*
List of rivers of New York
References
External links
State says Black Meadow Creek threatened
Rivers of New York (state)
Goshen, New York
Warwick, New York
Rivers of Orange County, New York
Tributaries of the Hudson River
{{OrangeCountyNY-geo-stub