Nowadaga Creek

Nowadaga Creek
Nowadaga Creek with tributary waterfall in background
Location of the mouth of Nowadaga Creek Nowadaga Creek (the United States)
Location
Country	United States
State	New York
Region	Central New York
County	Herkimer
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	North-northeast of Paines Hollow
• coordinates	42°58′33″N 74°53′09″W
• elevation	558 ft (170 m)
Mouth	Erie Canal
• location	Indian Castle
• coordinates	43°00′35″N 74°46′25″W
• elevation	325 ft (99 m)
Basin size	31.4 sq mi (81 km2)
Basin features
Progression	Nowadaga Creek → Erie Canal → Mohawk River → Hudson River → Upper New York Bay
Tributaries
• right	Ohisa Creek

Nowadaga Creek is a river in Herkimer County in the state of New York. The basin drains portions of the towns of Danube, Stark, and Little Falls, as well as a small portion of the town of Warren, in southern Herkimer County before converging with the Erie Canal in Indian Castle, New York. The drainage basin is approximately 49 percent forested. The creek has an average slope of 1.7 percent over its entire stream length of 10.0 miles. On a 1790 land patent map it is spelled "Inchanando Creek".

Geology

Mouth of Nowadaga Creek at Erie Canal

Nowadaga Creek flows over a bedrock bed for much of its length and, therefore, is not subject to alluvial processes as seen in many similarly sized river basins. Despite its natural and relatively undeveloped setting, for much of its length the creek lacks a well- developed natural floodplain. In many areas along the creek, the bedrock channel is disintegrating, and pieces of stone that originate from the channel bed are conveyed downstream and deposited in lower velocity reaches of the channel, contributing to debris jams, avulsions, and flooding.