Paxton Creek
View of Paxton Creek from Maclay Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, near the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
Paxton Creek is located in Pennsylvania
Paxton Creek
Location of the mouth of Paxton Creek in Pennsylvania
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyDauphin
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationLinglestown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
 • coordinates40°21′29″N 76°48′9″W / 40.35806°N 76.80250°W / 40.35806; -76.80250[1]
 • elevation1,220 ft (370 m)[2]
MouthSusquehanna River
 • location
Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
 • coordinates
40°14′35″N 76°51′50″W / 40.24306°N 76.86389°W / 40.24306; -76.86389[1]
 • elevation
292 ft (89 m)[2]
Length13.9 mi (22.4 km)[3]
Basin size27.4 sq mi (71 km2)[2]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftBlack Run (Paxton Creek)
 • rightAsylum Run

Paxton Creek is a 13.9-mile-long (22.4 km)[3] tributary of the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the United States.

Paxton Creek flowing under U.S. Route 22 in Wildwood Park

The Paxton Creek watershed covers an area of 27.4 square miles (71 km2) and joins the Susquehanna River at South Harrisburg, Harrisburg.[4]

The name Paxton, or Paxtang, is derived the Susquehannock term "Peshtank", meaning "where the waters stand" or "the place of springs". It is born from two branches on the southern slopes of Blue Mountain to form the main stem in Lower Paxton Township. It then forms Wildwood Lake in Susquehanna Township, artificially formed in 1908 by damming the creek for recreational activities.[5] Later, it extends downstream approximately 6.2 miles to Harrisburg as a concrete channel built in 1914 (against the wishes of Warren Manning) to mitigate urban runoff and flooding, which is common after severe storms. This urban stream section of the confluence has been subject to planned restoration efforts, with a 2018 study published by PennDOT stating a goal aiming to "restore the creek’s ecosystem and improve its functions and services" by reversing the negative effects of the concrete channel and its degradation.[6]

Where the stream passes through the city it receives the discharges from several large sewers, which, during dry weather, pollute the water and foul the shores and bottom of the creek to a very objectionable extent.

— Warren Manning, Proposed Municipal Improvements for Harrisburg, PA, 1901

Tributaries

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Paxton Creek". Geographic Names Information System. 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 Shaw, L. C.; W. F. Busch (June 1984). Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams, Part II. Water Resources Bulletin. Vol. 16. Prepared in Cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Department of Forest and Waters. p. 226.
  3. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 8, 2011
  4. ↑ Paxton Creek Watershed and Education Association (2004). "Mission and History of PCWEA". paxtoncreek.org. Archived from the original on 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  5. ↑ "City of Harrisburg Comprehensive Plan 2020" (PDF). City of Harrisburg. p. 120. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Paxton Creek Master Plan" (PDF). Plan the Keystone. February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2022.



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