Chiques Creek
Encyclopedia
Chiques Creek is a 31.6 miles (50.9 km) tributary
of the Susquehanna River
in Lebanon
and Lancaster
counties, Pennsylvania
in the United States
.
The source is at an elevation of 1100 feet (335.3 m) near Mount Gretna Heights
in Lebanon County. The mouth is the confluence
with the Susquehanna River at an elevation of 230 feet (70.1 m) at Marietta
in Lancaster County.
Chiquesalunga, meaning "place of crayfish
".
The United States Geological Survey
Board on Geographic Names has made three official decisions on the name of the creek, deciding it was Chickies Creek in 1896 and 1916 before changing it to Chiques Creek in 2002. The USGS Geographic Names Information System
recognizes the following thirteen variant names for the creek: Big Chickies Creek, Big Chiques Creek, Big Chiquesalunga Creek, Chickesalapga Creek, Chickeswalungo Creek, Chickies Creek, Chickisalungo Creek, Chicques Creek, Chikiswalunga Creek, Chikiswalungo Creek, Chiquasatunga Creek, Chiquesatonga Creek, and Chiquesatunga Creek.
drainage basin
. Chiques Creek's major tributary is Little Chiques Creek
, entering roughly one mile upstream its mouth. (hence the variant names with Big in them for the main creek).
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
in Lebanon
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 120,327 people and 32,771 families residing in the county. The population density was 332 people per square mile . There were 49,320 housing units at an average density of 136 per square mile...
and Lancaster
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
counties, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The source is at an elevation of 1100 feet (335.3 m) near Mount Gretna Heights
Mount Gretna Heights, Pennsylvania
Mount Gretna Heights is a census-designated place in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 360 at the 2000 census...
in Lebanon County. The mouth is the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
with the Susquehanna River at an elevation of 230 feet (70.1 m) at Marietta
Marietta, Pennsylvania
Marietta is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,689 at the 2000 census. It is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River just north of Columbia.-Geography:Marietta is located at ....
in Lancaster County.
Name
The name of the creek comes from the LenapeLenape language
The Delaware languages, also known as the Lenape languages, are Munsee and Unami, two closely related languages of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family...
Chiquesalunga, meaning "place of crayfish
Crayfish
Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...
".
The United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States 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, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
Board on Geographic Names has made three official decisions on the name of the creek, deciding it was Chickies Creek in 1896 and 1916 before changing it to Chiques Creek in 2002. The USGS Geographic Names Information System
Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...
recognizes the following thirteen variant names for the creek: Big Chickies Creek, Big Chiques Creek, Big Chiquesalunga Creek, Chickesalapga Creek, Chickeswalungo Creek, Chickies Creek, Chickisalungo Creek, Chicques Creek, Chikiswalunga Creek, Chikiswalungo Creek, Chiquasatunga Creek, Chiquesatonga Creek, and Chiquesatunga Creek.
Course and watershed
Chiques Creek flows generally south for its entire course. The Chickies Creek watershed has a total area of 126 square miles (326.3 km²) and is part of the larger Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
. Chiques Creek's major tributary is Little Chiques Creek
Little Chiques Creek
Little Chiques Creek is a tributary of Chiques Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the United States.Little Chiques Creek joins Chiques Creek upstream of the Susquehanna River.-References:...
, entering roughly one mile upstream its mouth. (hence the variant names with Big in them for the main creek).
Covered bridges
Five covered bridges cross the creek in Lancaster County:- Shearer's Covered BridgeShearer's Covered BridgeShearer's Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the Big Chiques Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. ....
- Kauffman's Distillery Covered BridgeKauffman's Distillery Covered BridgeKauffman's Distillery Covered Bridge or Sporting Hill Bridge is a covered bridge that spans Chiques Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Chiques #1 Bridge...
- Schenck's Mill Covered BridgeSchenck's Mill Covered BridgeSchenk's Mill Covered Bridge or Shenk's Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the Big Chiques Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Chiques #4 Bridge...
- Siegrist's Mill Covered BridgeSiegrist's Mill Covered BridgeSiegrist's Mill Covered Bridge is a , Burr Arch Truss covered bridge over Chiques Creek between Rapho and West Hempfield townships, Lancaster County in U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Owned and maintained by the county, its official designation is the Big Chiques #6 Bridge.The bridge's World Guide to...
- Forry's Mill Covered BridgeForry's Mill Covered BridgeForry's Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans Chiques Creek in West Hempfield in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Chiques #7 Bridge...
Tributaries
- Donegal Creek
- Little Chiques CreekLittle Chiques CreekLittle Chiques Creek is a tributary of Chiques Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the United States.Little Chiques Creek joins Chiques Creek upstream of the Susquehanna River.-References:...
- Dellinger Run
- Hife Run
- Boyers Run
- Shearers Creek