Oneida Creek is a small river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 in the USA. The creek enters Oneida Lake

Oneida Lake

Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York State . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It serves as one of the links in the Erie Canal. It empties into the Oneida River which flows into the Oswego River which in turn flows into Lake Ontario...

 at its southeast corner at a location known as South Bay, a bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

 of the lake. The name is derived from the Oneida tribe

Oneida tribe

The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...

 of the Iroquois

Iroquois

The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

.

The community of South Bay in the Town of Lenox

Lenox, New York

Lenox is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 8,665 as of the 2000 census.The Town of Lenox is on the county's northern border. It is west of the City of Oneida.- History :...

 is south of the mouth of the creek, and Verona Beach State Park

Verona Beach State Park

Verona Beach State Park is located on Route 13 in the Town of Verona, Oneida County, New York. The park is northwest of the City of Oneida and south of Sylvan Beach...

 is north of the mouth.

The creek forms part of the boundary between Madison County

Madison County, New York

Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 73,442. It is named after James Madison, fourth President of the United States of America...

 and Oneida County

Oneida County, New York

Oneida County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 234,878. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, an Iroquoian tribe that formerly occupied the region....

. The cities of Oneida

Oneida, New York

Oneida is a city in Madison County located west of Oneida Castle and east of Canastota, New York, United States. The population was 10,987 at the 2000 census. The city, like both Oneida County and the nearby silver and china maker, takes its name from the Oneida tribe...

 and Sherrill

Sherrill, New York

Sherrill is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States. With a population of 3,147 , it is the least populous city in the state. Sherill is located at the western end of the Town of Vernon on Route 5. Sherrill is referred to as The Silver City.-History:Sherrill was founded in 1916 through a...

 are located along the lower part of the creek. The region of the river is known for the historic Oneida Community

Oneida Community

The Oneida Community was a religious commune founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848 in Oneida, New York. The community believed that Jesus had already returned in the year 70 AD, making it possible for them to bring about Jesus's millennial kingdom themselves, and be free of sin and perfect in this...

 of the 19th Century. In the past the Erie Canal

Erie Canal

The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

 was closely associated with the creek until the canal was moved farther north.

The flow near the City of Oneida is about 300 cubic feet (8 m³) per second.

The Oneida River

Oneida River

The Oneida River in central New York state flows from Oneida Lake to its confluence with the Seneca and Oswego rivers. The Oswego empties the water of the other two rivers into Lake Ontario....

discharges the water from Oneida Lake from the western end.