Catharine Creek is a roughly stream that flows through
Chemung and
Schuyler Schuyler may refer to:
Places United States
* Schuyler County, Illinois
* Schuyler County, Missouri
* Schuyler, Nebraska, a city
* Schuyler County, New York
* Schuyler, New York, a town
* Schuyler Island, Lake Champlain, New York
* Schuyler C ...
counties in
New York.
The creek, named after
Catharine Montour Catharine Montour, also known as Queen Catharine (died after 1791), was a prominent Iroquois leader living in ''Queanettquaga,'' a Seneca village of ''Sheaquaga'', informally called Catharine's Town, in western New York. She has often been confused ...
, is a major tributary to
Seneca Lake.
Course
While the other waterways of Chemung County are part of the
Susquehanna River basin, Catharine Creek is part of the
St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
basin. It flows into
Seneca Lake, the largest of the
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...
, which drains into
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...
via the
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
and
Oswego rivers.
Catharine Creek rises atop a ridge in the
Town of Veteran in
Chemung County. It flows south to an area known locally as the
Holding Point The Holding Point is an area in the Town of Horseheads, New York that is the site of the Horseheads Industrial Center.
The name dates back to World War II, when the federal government used eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippine ...
in
Horseheads. It then flows back to the north, mostly alongside
Route 14, through the communities of
Pine Valley,
Millport,
Montour Falls
Montour Falls is a village located in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 2,714 at the time of the 2020 census. A waterfall at the end of West Main Street gives the village its name. The name "Montour" is derived from Q ...
, and
Watkins Glen.
History
The
Chemung Canal
The Chemung Canal is a former canal in New York, United States. The canal connected Seneca Lake at Watkins Glen to the Chemung River at Elmira, New York. It was planned to connect the Finger Lakes region and Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River ...
ran through the Catharine Creek valley from Horseheads to Seneca Lake during the mid-19th century, facilitating transportation and shipping between the southern New York region and the United States' east coast. Some remnants remain in Catharine Creek Marsh, a wetlands complex located between Montour Falls and Watkins Glen. After the canal closed in 1878, the
Pennsylvania Railroad took over much of the canal's right-of-way.
Recreation
The
Catharine Valley Trail, a
rails to trails
A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
project, has been under development since the early 2000s by New York State and volunteers. Following former railroad beds and canal towpaths near Catharine Creek, the multi-use trail is intended to eventually link Horseheads to Seneca Lake.
As of 2016, of the trail are open to the public, with plans for the trail to grow to in length.
The Catharine Creek
Wildlife Management Area
A Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is a protected area set aside for the conservation of wildlife and for recreational activities involving wildlife.
New Zealand
There are 11 Wildlife Management Areas in New Zealand:
* Horsham Downs Wildlife Man ...
, managed by the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, protects a large wetlands complex near the creek's mouth. Although camping is prohibited and no formal recreation facilities exist, the area is open to the public for hunting, hiking, bird watching, boating, and fishing. A spur of the
Finger Lakes Trail
The Finger Lakes Trail consists of a network of trails in New York. The trail system is administered by thFinger Lakes Trail Conference(FLTC), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, composed primarily of volunteers.
Description
The FLT is primaril ...
passes through the marsh.
[
Catharine Creek is a regional ]sport fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit (economics), profit; or subsistence fishing ...
destination each spring, as anglers target the numerous rainbow trout that enter the creek during their annual spawning
Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...
runs.
See also
*List of rivers in New York
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of New York.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented by order of confluence with their main stem, from mouth to source.
Long Island Sound (nort ...
References
{{authority control
Rivers of New York (state)
Rivers of Schuyler County, New York
Rivers of Chemung County, New York