Swartz Creek is a 33.9 miles (54.6 km) creek

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

 located in the Mid Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 area in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is a tributary of the Flint River

Flint River (Michigan)

The Flint River is a river in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan in the United States. It flows through the city of Flint and the counties of Genesee, Lapeer and Saginaw.- Course :...

 and has two branches, the East and West Branch. Its name comes from the German word Schwarz, meaning "black", as the creek water is muddy.

Description

The east branch originates at a number of lakes at Holly State Recreation Area in Holly Township

Holly Township, Michigan

Holly Township is a civil township of north Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,362 at the 2010 census.- Communities :* The village of Holly is located within the township....

 in Oakland County

Oakland County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...

. It then flows through a number of small lakes in Fenton Township

Fenton Township, Michigan

Fenton Charter Township is a charter township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,968 at the 2000 census.-Communities:* The City of Fenton is in the southeast corner of the township, but is administratively autonomous...

, taking a turn northwards to flow through Mundy Township

Mundy Township, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,191 people, 4,876 households, and 3,583 families residing in the township. The population density was 338.8 per square mile . There were 5,047 housing units at an average density of 140.3 per square mile...

, and finally heading along the west side of Bishop International Airport

Bishop International Airport

Bishop International Airport is an airport located in the city of Flint, Michigan. The third busiest airport in Michigan, it surpassed competitor MBS International Airport in terms of airline operations in 2002. In 2007, 1,072,420 passengers used Bishop Airport, followed by a slight drop to...

 to join up with the west branch of the creek just north of Interstate 69

Interstate 69

Interstate 69 is an Interstate Highway in the United States. It exists in two parts: a completed highway from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, and a mostly proposed extension southwest to the Mexican border in Texas...

 near the Bristol Road on-ramps. It then continues northeast through the city of Flint until it empties into Thread Creek just meters from where that creek empties into the Flint River

Flint River (Michigan)

The Flint River is a river in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan in the United States. It flows through the city of Flint and the counties of Genesee, Lapeer and Saginaw.- Course :...

.

The west branch begins directly southwest of the city of Swartz Creek

Swartz Creek, Michigan

-Demographics:At the 2000 census, there were 5,102 people, 2,233 households and 1,460 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,269.6 per square mile . There were 2,355 housing units at an average density of 586.0 per square mile...

 in Gaines Township

Gaines Township, Genesee County, Michigan

Gaines Township is a civil township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,491 at the 2000 census.-Communities:*The Village of Gaines is located within the township....

. It then flows northeast through the city and then through Flint Township

Flint Township, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 33,691 people, 13,972 households, and 9,025 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,425.5 per square mile . There were 14,864 housing units at an average density of 628.9 per square mile...

, where it meets the eastern branch at Bristol Road and I-69. The previous "head waters" was a swamp called "Gaines' Dead Marsh", or "Dead Man's Swamp", which was drained by Henry Howland Crapo for farm land. This swamp was the source of the muddy water that gave the creek its name.

Tributaries

• East Branch
• Indian Creek – joins up at Cook Road East of US-23

• Dawe Creek – join up with Indian Creek South of Cook Road East of Torrey Road
  • Seaver Drain – joins up at Cook Road West of Fenton Road
  • West Branch
  • Hewitt Drain – joins up east of the Bristol Road on ramps
• Howland Drain – meets Hewitt Drain just North of Maple Road between Linden Road and Jennings Road
  • Kimball Drain – meets up just North of the Railroad along the City of Swartz Creek's Southern border.
• Lum Drain – meets up with Kimball Drain Northeast of Morrish and Reid Roads