Little Beaver Creek is a wild and scenic area in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The Little Beaver Creek watershed is located primarily in Columbiana County in eastern Ohio, and in portions of Carroll County, Mahoning County, and western

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, draining approximately 605 mi² (1,567 km²), of which 503 mi² (1,303 km²) are in Ohio. The watershed in total size covers an area of approximately 510 square miles, with about 80% of this being situated in Ohio. The great majority of land within the watershed is privately owned. Within the watershed are roughly 808 miles of linear streams. The creek is protected by a number of classifications, including ''Ohio Wild and Scenic River'' and ''National Scenic River'', as well as being part of Ohio's state park system. It is the only major river in Ohio to have dual State Wild and Scenic and National Scenic River designations, and was the first in the country to earn both distinctions. The creek empties into the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

just east of

East Liverpool, Ohio East Liverpool is a city in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,958 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It lies along the Ohio River at the intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia about from both ...

. The now-defunct Sandy and Beaver Canal was constructed alongside the creek. According to an Ohio Department of Natural Resources study conducted in 2004, Little Beaver Creek is an exceptionally clean waterway with a highly diverse

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. It supports 63 species of

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, 49

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, 270 species of migratory and resident

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

and 46 species of

reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

and

amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

, including the rare and protected

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 ...

known as the

hellbender The hellbender (''Cryptobranchus alleganiensis''), also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States. It is the largest salamander in North America. A member of the ...

. It is thought to be the only

riparian 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 ripar ...

corridor in the United States which shows geologic evidence of all five

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

s. Little Beaver Creek has several forks, which lead generally in a southern and easterly direction. The North Fork and Middle Forks of the creek join in confluence at Laurel Point in the unincorporated village of Fredericktown, Ohio. From here the creek flows down to the Ohio River. The Little Beaver Creek watershed is home to Beaver Creek State Forest, Beaver Creek State Park, and Sheepskin Hollow State Nature Preserve. Little Beaver Creek01

Name

Little Beaver Creek is an English translation of the original Native American name. According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...

, the Little Beaver Creek has also been known as: *Beaver Creek *Little Beaver River *Middle Fork Beaver Creek *Little Beaver Creek *The Tubs

References

External links

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System listingSt. Clair Township Travel & Tourism BureauFebruary 10, 1976 letter from President Gerald R. Ford entitled "Message to the Congress Transmitting Report on Little Beaver Creek, Ohio"
{{coord, 40.6428, N, 80.5120, W, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:US, display=title Rivers of Ohio Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Rivers of Columbiana County, Ohio Rivers of Carroll County, Ohio Rivers of Mahoning County, Ohio

Name

See also

References

External links