West Canada Creek

The West Canada Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed October 3, 2011 river in upstate New York, United States. West Canada Creek is an important water way in Hamilton, Oneida, and Herkimer counties, draining the south part of the Adirondack Mountains before emptying into the Mohawk River near the Village of Herkimer. The name "Canada" is derived from an Iroquoian word for "village" (''Kanata'').

Recreation and municipal use

A series of waterfalls in the Prospect Gorge, principally Trenton Falls, was a major tourist attraction in the past. Today, the West Canada is used by public utilities for power generation, and is used by the public for trout fishing, tubing, and other outdoor recreational pursuits. For fishing and fly fishing advocates, a trophy section exists from Trenton Falls to the Oneida/Herkimer county border, also known as Comstock Bridge. Efforts to balance the impacts of power generation and the habitat needs of wild trout in West Canada Creek have been undertaken by advocacy groups such as the Trout Power Initiative.

The timber, fish, and game of the area have been harvested for centuries. Today, all of the West Canada Creek is classified and protected under the New York State Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers System Act.

History

The West Canada Creek got its name from being the western boundary of Sir William Johnson's Royal Land Grant, and because the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word for village is ''Kanata'' or Canada. The name "Canada" may also refer to the creek's importance as a trail to Canada in colonial times. The creek was also known by Native Americans as ''Te-ugh-ta-ra-row '', meaning "its waters are discolored"; the color of the creek that resulted from its sources in the forest also gave rise to another historical name, "Amber Creek".

The stream was formerly known as the Kuyahoora River, from the Native American term ''Kuy-a-ho-ra'', meaning "slanting waters", or "leaping waters". The river's valley is also known as the Kuyahoora Valley.

On October 30, 1781, Walter Butler was killed along West Canada Creek near Black Creek. He was attempting to delay American forces and allow his Loyalist forces to escape after leading them in the Cherry Valley massacre during the American Revolutionary War. According to legend his body was stripped naked and left to the wolves propped up in an old tree stump.

Following the Revolutionary War, Arthur Noble II (son of Arthur Noble) purchased in the present town of Ohio, and called it " Nobleboro". He built a saw mill there to export lumber to Ireland. In 1790 Noble got a road built to Nobleboro so that he could ride to his saw mill in a coach-and-four. Some logging occurred at Nobleboro before the Civil War, but by the late 1800s a new call for lumber and paper caused new activity in the woods of the region. Pulp and paper mills were built at Hinkley, with saw mills and a debarking mill at Nobleboro. The vast forests to the north were still in private ownership and they supplied these industries for decades. Each spring logs and pulpwood were flushed downstream on the wave of snowmelt and Nobleboro was an important staging area for these log drives. The foundation logs of the river drive dam that controlled water flow can still be seen at the river's edge. Log drives continued on the West Canada Creek until 1949. Since then the land here has healed nearly hiding the once-thriving industrial complex once known as "Nobleboro, the gateway to the great north woods".

In the late-19th century and first decade of the 20th century, the area surrounding the creek's source at the West Canada Lakes was inhabited by several woodsmen who were lumberjacks, trappers, fishermen, hunters and guides. Most notable was a character named Louis Seymore, commonly known as French Louie. In 1922 the Adirondack Mountain Club was founded with the purpose of enacting conservation work and maintaining trails. They laid out and maintained the Northville-Placid Trail which runs through the West Canada Lakes area and is now maintained by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).

By the 1930s float planes were bringing increasing numbers of anglers to the West Canada Lakes and the trout population was decreasing rapidly. Around that time the state began an aggressive stocking program which continued into the 1960s, but the fishery was still declining. By the mid 1970s water acidity had depleted trout populations in many of the lakes and in the river itself. In 1972, the West Canada Lake Wilderness Area was designated by the NYSDEC as "Wilderness", and as such no motorized vehicles or watercraft are allowed into the area. It was determined that during summer and fall acidity was fine, but during the spring snow melt a large quantity of acidic water was entering the lakes and streams, just at the time that young trout were hatching. In the late 1980s increasing catches of brook trout and lake trout renewed interest. Subsequent studies have shown reduced acidity and increased trout populations.

In 1863, William H. Seward, then Secretary of State to Abraham Lincoln, met with representatives of foreign nations at Trenton Falls to persuade them not to recognize the Confederacy.

Tributaries

Right

Left

Course

The West Canada Lakes

The West Canada Lakes ( South_Lake)_are_the_source_of_the_West_Canada_Creek.__Nearby_Brook_Trout_Lake_and__Northrup_Lake_are_the_source_of_the_Indian_River_which_empties_into_the_Moose_River_Plains_Wild_Forest.html" ;"title="South Lake (Hamilton County, New York)">South Lake) are the source of the West Canada Creek. Nearby Brook Trout Lake and Northrup Lake are the source of the Indian River which empties into the Moose_River_country.

_South_Branch_of_the_West_Canada_Creek

The_West_Canada_Creek's_south_branch_gets_its_start_at_T-lake,_northwest_of_ Moose_River_country.

_South_Branch_of_the_West_Canada_Creek

The_West_Canada_Creek's_south_branch_gets_its_start_at_T-lake,_northwest_of_Piseco,_New_York">Piseco_Lake_

Piseco_Lake_is_located_in_Hamilton_County,_New_York,_near_the_hamlet_of__Piseco_in_the_Adirondack_Mountains._The_outflow_is__Piseco_Outlet,_which_flows_into_the_West_Branch_Sacandaga_River_

West_Branch_Sacandaga_River_is_a_river_in__Hamilton_Coun_...
.__It_travels_southwest,_through_the_town_of_Morehouse,_New_York.html" ;"title="Piseco,_New_York.html" "title="Moose River Plains Wild Forest">Moose River country.

South Branch of the West Canada Creek

The West Canada Creek's south branch gets its start at T-lake, northwest of Piseco, New York">Piseco Lake