Tonawanda Creek is a small

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 Niagara River in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...

, 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.

Description

The length of Tonawanda Creek is . Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

is nearly in area. It flows on a meandering course for most of its length, first northerly until reaching the City of Batavia where a sweeping bend takes it westerly. Tonawanda Creek rises in Wyoming County and enters the Niagara River between Niagara County and Erie County, forming a boundary between them. Tonawanda Creek passes through the Village of Attica, the City of Batavia, flows between the City of North Tonawanda to its north and the Town of Amherst to its south, the Town of Clarence, the Town of Tonawanda, and the City of Tonawanda. Just after being joined by Ellicott Creek, it enters the Niagara River. The creek has a small

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

at Indian Falls where the stream descends from the Onondaga Escarpment. During the spring of each year, some sections of Tonawanda Creek flood to varying degrees. These floods are more of an inconvenience than a danger, but can be more serious, especially when ice jams dam up the water. The larger flooding can cause property damage. 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, ...

, which joins the creek southwest of Lockport and allows canal traffic to proceed into the Niagara River. In its upper reaches, Tonawanda Creek and the Little Tonawanda, which is a tributary, are trout streams.

History

The name Tonawanda (') or (') derives from the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) language meaning swift water. Tonawanda Creek flows through the ancient lake bed of Glacial Lake Tonawanda, a prehistoric lake that existed approximately 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age; many of the swamp lands surrounding Tonawanda Creek also date back to this lake. Downstream of Indian Falls, Tonawanda Creek flows through the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, and this is where

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

made a troop fording across the stream. When the Erie Canal was first built, the Tonawanda Creek was the source of water for the western section of the Canal.

References

External links

Flooding on the Tonawanda Creek
{{authority control Rivers of New York (state) North Tonawanda, New York Rivers of Wyoming County, New York Rivers of Niagara County, New York Rivers of Erie County, New York Rivers of Genesee County, New York

Description

History

See also

References

External links