The Tuscarawas River is a principal

tributary 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 ...

of the

Muskingum River The Muskingum River (Shawnee: ') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country o ...

, 129.9 miles (209 km) long, in northeastern

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Via the Muskingum and

rivers, it is part of the watershed of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, draining an area of on

glaciated A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

and unglaciated portions of the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divide ...

Route

The river rises southwest of Hartville in northern Stark County, and initially flows westward, through Uniontown into southern Summit County, where it passes through the Portage Lakes area south of

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, and Barberton. From Barberton the Tuscarawas flows generally south through Stark and Tuscarawas counties; the communities of Clinton, Canal Fulton, Massillon,

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, Bolivar, Zoar,

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, and New Philadelphia were developed along its banks. South of New Philadelphia, the river turns southwest and west, flowing past Tuscarawas, Gnadenhutten, Port Washington, and

Newcomerstown Newcomerstown is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States, east-northeast of Columbus. In the late 1770s, this was the largest Delaware Indian village on the Tuscarawas River, with 700 residents. Chief Newcomer (''Netawatwes'') was ...

, sites of former

Lenape people The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

villages at the time of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, into Coshocton County, where it joins the

Walhonding River The Walhonding River is a principal tributary of the Muskingum River,Columbia Gazettee ...

at the city of Coshocton (a former major Lenape site) to form the Muskingum River.

DeLorme DeLorme is the producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company’s main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and receive text messages ...

(1991). ''Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. pp. 41, 51-52, 60-61. . Tuscarawas River Massillon

From Barberton downstream, the

Ohio and Erie Canal The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth. It also ...

was constructed parallel to the river in 1828–30 to provide for improved transportation of products and passengers. Usage began declining in the 1850s, and the canal was damaged beyond repair by flooding in 1913. Portions of the canal's

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport ...

route are maintained as a hiking and bicycling trail. According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

, the Tuscarawas River has also been known historically by the names Little Muskingum River (or, "East branch of the Muskingum"), Mashongam River, Tuscarawa River, and Tuskarawas Creek, all derived from Native American terms. , the state of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has recommended limits on the consumption of fish taken from the river, due to contamination by

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

and

PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...

Tributaries

The Tuscarawas River collects Chippewa Creek in Summit County near Clinton, and Wolf Creek in Norton, and Sandy Creek in Stark County near Bolivar. In Tuscarawas County, it collects

Conotton Creek Conotton Creek ( ) is a tributary of the Tuscarawas River, 38.7 miles (62.3 km) long, in eastern Ohio in the United States. Via the Tuscarawas, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an are ...

southeast of Zoar; Sugar Creek at Dover; and Stillwater Creek north of Tuscarawas.

Nimishillen Creek Nimishillen Creek is a tributary of Sandy Creek, 24.5 miles (39.4 km) long, in northeastern Ohio. Via Sandy Creek and the Tuscarawas, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 187 ...

, a tributary of Sandy Creek, drains the city of Canton.

Flow rate

At the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

stream gauge A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or volu ...

in Newcomerstown, the annual mean flow of the river between 1922 and 2005 was 2,591 ft³/s (73 m³/s). The highest recorded flow during the period was 46,800 ft³/s (1,325 m³/s) on January 26, 1937. The lowest recorded flow was 216 ft³/s (6 m³/s) on August 15, 1944. At an upstream gauge in Massillon, the annual mean flow of the river between 1938 and 2005 was 466 ft³/s (13 m³/s). The highest recorded flow during the period was 10,700 ft³/s (303 m³/s) on July 5, 1969. The lowest recorded flow was 45 ft³/s (1.3 m³/s) on September 20, 1999.

In popular culture

* Conrad Richter's novel, ''The Light in the Forest'' (1953), features True Son recalling a memory set along the Tuscarawas River. *The band

Sun Kil Moon Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist M ...

refers to the Tuscarawas in their song " Carry Me, Ohio", with the lyric, "Tuscarawas flows into the prairie land".song lyrics for 'Carry Me Ohio'
/ref> The Tuscarawas ultimately feeds the Mississippi River, which flows into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Ohio Muskingum River Rivers of Coshocton County, Ohio Rivers of Stark County, Ohio Rivers of Summit County, Ohio Rivers of Tuscarawas County, Ohio Allegheny Plateau Tributaries of the Ohio River

Route

Tributaries

Flow rate

In popular culture

See also

References