Ellicott Creek is a

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

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 United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It 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 ...

Tonawanda Creek Tonawanda Creek is a small tributary of the Niagara River in Western New York, United States. After rising in Wyoming County, the stream flows through Genesee County before forming part of the boundary between Erie County and Niagara County ...

, which in turn flows into the

Niagara River The Niagara River ( ) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce T ...

Course

Ellicott Creek originates in southwest corner of Genesee County, just northeast of Darien Lakes State Park, in the Town of Darien. It flows generally west, crossing into Erie County and the Town of Alden. It crosses the northern edge of the Town of Lancaster, flowing through the community of Bowmansville in the northwest part of Lancaster. Continuing west, Ellicott Creek enters the Town of Cheektowaga. There it passes by the toxic Pfohl Brothers Landfill and the

Buffalo Niagara International Airport Buffalo Niagara International Airport is in Cheektowaga (town), New York, Cheektowaga, New York (state), New York, United States. The airport serves Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York in the United States, and the southern Golden H ...

. The creek turns to the northwest at the airport. It flows under one of the runways via a tunnel. It then turns more directly north and enters the Village of Williamsville and the Town of Amherst. At Williamsville's Island Park Ellicott Creek splits briefly into two channels, one of which contains floodgates. The other channel was historically used to divert water into flumes for powering mills just downstream. Below the floodgates the creek flows rapidly north, passing under State Route 5 and falling over the Onondaga Escarpment at Glen Falls in

Amherst State Park Amherst State Park is an park in Erie County, New York, United States. The park is located northeast of Buffalo, partially in the Village of Williamsville with the balance located in the Town of Amherst. The park is managed by the Town of ...

. After Glen Falls, Ellicott Creek continues flowing generally north and northwest through Amherst. It passes by several golf courses and then through the northern edge of the campus of the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, after which the creek turns to the west and crosses under Interstate 990 (Lockport Expressway). Just west of I-990 the creek splits into two channels for about . The northern channel is deeper, has been more thoroughly channelized and is bordered by commercial land use, while the southern channel is fairly sinuous and contains more trees in the riparian zone.Mapping of aquatic and ripiarian habitats of Ellicott and Tonawanda Creeks
, New York Power Authority After these channels rejoin, Ellicott Creek it enters the Town of Tonawanda and passes through Ellicott Creek Park. Ellicott Creek continues west for approximately before emptying into

in the

City of Tonawanda Tonawanda is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,129 at the 2020 census. It is at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal (Tonawanda Creek) from North Tonawanda, east of Grand Island, and ...

. This portion of Tonawanda Creek is also part of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

. Tonawanda Creek then empties into the

. The distance from the mouth of Ellicott Creek to the Niagara River is about .

History

Ellicott Creek is named after Joseph Ellicott, an important agent of the

Holland Land Company The Holland Land Company was an unincorporated syndicate of thirteen Dutch investors from Amsterdam,Kirby, C.D. (1976). ''The Early History of Gowanda and The Beautiful Land of the Cattaraugus''. Gowanda, NY: Niagara Frontier Publishing Company ...

. Ellicott played a significant role in opening Western New York up for settlement after the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

ceded their claims in the 1780s, more significantly in the Big Tree Treaty with the

Seneca nation The Seneca ( ; ) are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois Leag ...

. Elicott surveyed most of

Holland Purchase The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the sale, in 1788, of a portion of a large tract of land in western New York State owned by the Seneca nation of the Iroquois Confederacy to a syndicate of land developers led by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel G ...

into townships and saleable land parcels.

Natural history

Niagara River surface fluctuations influence creek water level up to upstream of the mouth of Ellicott Creek.Upper Niagara River Tributary Backwater Study
New York Power Authority

Ellicott Creek Bike Path

Ellicott Creek Bike Path follows the creek in the Town of Amherst, near the

(UB) and flows under Interstate 990 before leaving Amherst by crossing U.S. Route 62 (Niagara Falls Boulevard) to enter the Town of Tonawanda at Ellicott Creek Park. In 1990, the Ellicott Creek Bike Path was the last known location where Linda Yalem—a UB sophomore running on the path—was alive before being raped and killed by Altemio Sanchez.

References

{{authority control Rivers of New York (state) Rivers of Erie County, New York Rivers of Genesee County, New York

Course

History

Natural history

Ellicott Creek Bike Path

See also

References