Limestone Creek is long with a
drainage area
A drainage basin is an area of land where 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, t ...
of , and is a tributary to the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...
. The river rises in
Lincoln County, Tennessee, and flows south into
Madison County, Alabama before flowing through
Limestone County, Alabama, where most of the river's
watershed is located. In fact, Limestone Creek is where Limestone County gets its name. Limestone Creek terminates in the Tennessee River at Arrowhead Landing, which is the southeasternmost point of Limestone County's Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. The land within this watershed is predominantly agricultural, but has experienced significant recent residential growth from the city of
Huntsville
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
.
Biological diversity
Limestone Creek is a host to several species of fish, birds, and mammals. Fish species include ''
Micropterus coosae'' (redeye bass), ''
Ambloplites rupestris
The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fa ...
'' (rock bass), several species of ''
Lepomis
''Lepomis'' or true sunfish is a genus of North American freshwater fish from the family Centrarchidae in the order Perciformes (perch-like fish). The generic name ''Lepomis'' derives from the Greek ("scale") and ("cover", "plug", " opercul ...
'' (sunfish), ''
Ictalurus punctatus
The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, th ...
'' (channel catfish), and ''
Perca flavescens
The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...
'' (yellow perch). Sightings of
great blue heron are common. Multiple sightings of the American alligator (''
Alligator mississippiensis
The American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the gen ...
'') have been reported, especially near the mouth of the river in Limestone Bay, which is the confluence of Limestone Creek with the Tennessee River.
There is evidence of beaver presence in the area where Limestone Creek first enters Limestone County and squirrels are abundant near the banks.
See also
*
List of rivers of Tennessee
This is a list of rivers of the U.S. state of Tennessee:
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. All rivers in Tennessee ultimately flow to the Gulf of Mex ...
References
USGS Gauge Site Data
{{authority control
Rivers of Alabama
Rivers of Tennessee
Rivers of Madison County, Alabama
Rivers of Limestone County, Alabama
Huntsville-Decatur, AL Combined Statistical Area
Rivers of Lincoln County, Tennessee