Conewago Creek is a 23 miles (37 km) tributary

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...

, Dauphin

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Dauphin County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of the three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 census, the population was 268,100. The county includes the city of Harrisburg, which has served as the state capital...

, 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 in 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) at 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 261 feet (79.6 m) at the border of Dauphin and Lancaster counties, just south of Three Mile Island in the river and just north of the unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 of Falmouth in Conoy Township, Lancaster County.

Name

The name of the creek comes from the Lenape

Lenape 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...

, meaning "at the rapids". The rapids are the Conewago Falls in the Susquehanna River, which also give their name to the other Conewago Creek

Conewago Creek (west)

Conewago Creek is an tributary of the Susquehanna River in Adams and York counties in Pennsylvania in the United States, with its watershed also draining a small portion of Carroll County, Maryland. The source is at an elevation of , east of Caledonia State Park, in Franklin Township in Adams County...

, whose mouth is on the west bank of the Susquehanna River in York County, only 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south of the mouth of this Conewago Creek.

Course

Conewago Creek flows generally southwest its entire length. The source is in Lebanon County in West Cornwall Township near the census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 of Mount Gretna Heights. It then flows through the borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 of Mount Gretna

Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania

Mount Gretna is a borough in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Lebanon, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 242 at the 2000 census...

 and into South Londonderry Township and the census-designated place of Timber Hills

Timber Hills, Pennsylvania

Timber Hills is a census-designated place in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 329 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Timber Hills is located at ....

. A small southern portion of South Annville Township is also in the watershed.

As Conewago Creek leaves Lebanon County, it forms the border between Dauphin County (to the north) and Lancaster County (to the south). In Dauphin County, the creek runs through Conewago Township

Conewago Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Conewago Township is a township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,847 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

 first, then Londonderry Township

Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Londonderry Township is a township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,224 at the 2000 census.The township includes the site of the 1979 Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station accident, which was the largest accident of its kind in the American nuclear power...

. In Lancaster County, it runs through Mount Joy Township

Mount Joy Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Mount Joy Township is a township in northwestern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,944 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

, West Donegal Township

West Donegal Township, Pennsylvania

West Donegal Township is a township in northwestern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,539 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

, just north of the borough of Elizabethtown

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

Elizabethtown is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Harrisburg. Small factories existed at the turn of the century when the population in 1900 was 1,861. There was a slight increase in the next decade, with 1,970 people living in Elizabethtown in 1910. As of the 2000 census,...

, and finally Conoy Township.

Watershed

The Conewago Creek watershed has a total area of 52.5 square miles (136 km²) and is part of the larger Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake 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...

 via 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...

. 53% of the watershed by area is given to agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

. 15.8 miles (25.4 km) of Conewago Creek downstream of its confluence with Little Conewago Creek are impaired, that is they are "too polluted to sustain the kind of fish and other aquatic life that it could sustain if it were a healthy stream." Sections of four other tributaries, including Lynch Run, Hoffer Creek, and two unnamed tributaries, are also impaired. Agricultural surface runoff

Surface runoff

Surface runoff is the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source...

 and sediment

Sediment

Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....

 are the major pollutants.

Recreation

Canoeing: Edward Gertler writes that Conewago Creek is "a fascinating little creek that is alternately either very easy or very exciting". Canoe

Canoe

A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

ing and kayak

Kayak

A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...

ing on Conewago Creek are possible when the water is high enough (in spring and after hard rain), with 11.6 miles (18.7 km) of Class 1 to 3 whitewater

Whitewater

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

 located upstream of the mouth.

Hiking: Several hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

 trails are located in the Conewago Creek watershed, including the Conewago Recreational Trail, Lebanon Valley Rails-to-Trail

Rail trail

A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...

, and Horse Shoe Trail

Horse Shoe Trail

The Horse Shoe Trail is a trail that runs from the western edge of Valley Forge National Historical Park westward toward Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where it ends at the Appalachian Trail....

.

Hunting and fishing: Public hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

, trapping, and fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 are available on the 2793 acres (1,130.3 ha) of Pennsylvania State Game Lands

Pennsylvania State Game Lands

The Pennsylvania State Game Lands are lands managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission for hunting, trapping, and fishing. These lands, often not usable for farming or development, are donated to the PGC or purchased by the PGC with hunting license monies.The Pennsylvania Game Commission runs a...

 No. 145 in Lebanon County. Conewago Creek between Dauphin and Lancaster counties has been designated as approved trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

waters by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. This means the waters will be stocked with trout and may be fished during trout season.