Massapequa Creek is a long creek that runs through Nassau County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and empties into

South Oyster Bay South Oyster Bay or East Bay is a lagoon

. Most of the length of the creek exists within the Massapequa Preserve, a wooded area that extends from the

Southern State Parkway The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway; abbreviated as SO on Road signs in the United States, signage) is a limited-access highway on Long Island, New York (state), New York, in the United States. The pa ...

in the north to

Merrick Road Merrick Road is an east–west urban arterial in Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties in New York, United States. It is known as Merrick Boulevard or Floyd H. Flake Boulevard in Queens, within New York City. Merrick Road runs east from the Queens ...

in the south. The creek's

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

extend north to Farmingdale, draining an area of . Massapequa Lake 2021c

Like all other rivers on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, Massapequa Creek is fed primarily by

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

. The creek's three

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or 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 drain the surrounding drainage b ...

rise in

South Farmingdale South Farmingdale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 14,486 at the 2010 census. The hamlet is a ...

, two of which merge in a

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

next to

Farmingdale High School Farmingdale High School is a public high school located in Farmingdale, Nassau County, New York, and is the only high school operated by the Farmingdale Union Free School District. The school also serves East Farmingdale and a portion of North ...

before crossing under the Southern State Parkway. It continues on the other side of the parkway, joined by the eastern tributary, and crosses Linden Street and into th
Massapequa Preserve
passing through three ponds before reaching the Massapequa Reservoir. From there, a

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

takes it under

Sunrise Highway New York State Route 27 (NY 27) is a long state highway that runs east–west from Interstate 278 (I-278) in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to Montauk Point State Park on Long Island, New York. Its two most prominent compo ...

into

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

areas, and then into the Massapequa Lake. Two spillways at the south end of the lake pass under

into a canal, which leads into Massapequa Cove and South Oyster Bay.

List of crossings of Massapequa Creek

* Linden Street * Clark Avenue * Long Island Rail Road Babylon Branch *

References

Town of Oyster Bay MASSAPEQUA CREEK WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AND CORRIDOR RESTORATION PLAN
Dec.ny.gov
DOH Public Health Assessment LIBERTY INDUSTRIAL FINISHING CORPORATION
Albany.edu
Google Maps- Massapequa Cove
Google.com {{authority control Rivers of New York (state) Bodies of water of Nassau County, New York