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Chartiers Creek

Not to be confused with Chartiers Run (Allegheny River).
For other uses, see Chartiers (disambiguation).
Chartiers Creek
Tributary to Ohio River
1751 map of Chartiers Creek
1751 map depicting Chartiers Creek (labeled as "Shartees Cr.", at top edge of map)
Map of Chartiers Creek mouth location
Map of Chartiers Creek mouth location
Location of Chartiers Creek mouth
Map of Chartiers Creek mouth location
Map of Chartiers Creek mouth location
Chartiers Creek (the United States)
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyAllegheny
Washington
CityWashington
BoroughCanonsburg
Carnegie
McKees Rocks
Thornburg
Heidelberg
Bridgeville
Houston
Physical characteristics
SourceFork of Bane Creek divide
 • locationabout 0.25 miles north of Van Buren, Pennsylvania
 • coordinates40°05′05″N 080°17′16″W / 40.08472°N 80.28778°W / 40.08472; -80.28778[1]
 • elevation1,220 ft (370 m)[2]
MouthOhio River
 • location
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
 • coordinates
40°27′54″N 080°03′10″W / 40.46500°N 80.05278°W / 40.46500; -80.05278[1]
 • elevation
710 ft (220 m)[3]
Length47.60 mi (76.60 km)[4]
Basin size277.42 square miles (718.5 km2)[5]
Discharge 
 • locationOhio River
 • average321.31 cu ft/s (9.098 m3/s) at mouth with Ohio River[5]
Basin features
Progressiongenerally northeast[4]
River systemOhio River
Tributaries 
 • leftGeorges Run
Chartiers Run
McPherson Creek
Coal Run
Millers Run
Thoms Run
Robinson Run
Campbells Run
 • rightCatfish Creek
Little Chartiers Creek
Brush Run
McLaughlin Run
Painters Run
Scrubgrass Run
Whiskey Run
WaterbodiesReservoir #2
BridgesPA 18 (x4), Farmer Lane, Old Scales Road, Vaneal Drive, Mounts Road, Jolly School Road, Old Plank Road, PA 18, Walker Lane, PA 18, Ridgewood Drive, US 40, I-70, Caldwell Avenue, Jessop Place, W Wylie Avenue, Woodland Avenue, PA 844, Wallace Lane, PA 18, Oak Grove Road, N Main Street Ext., Country Club Road, Pike Street, Racetrack Road, Vandale Drive, S. Johnson Road, S Main Street, Strabane Avenue, S. Jefferson Avenue, S Central Avenue, Morganza Road, Curry Avenue, Curry Hill Road, Southpoint Boulevard, I-79, Morganza Road, Atlas Lane, Maple Lane, Georgetown Road, Boyce Road, Mayview Road, PA 50, I-79, Prestley Road, Steen Road, I-79, PA 50, Greentree Road, Washington Avenue, Hammond Street, Carothers Avenue, W Main Street, Mansfield Boulevard, Chestnut Street, I-376, Rutgers Road, Stubenville Pike, Wind Gap Bridge, PA 51, W Carson Street

Chartiers Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. The creek was named after Peter Chartier,[6] a trapper of French and Native American parentage who established a trading post at the mouth of the creek in 1743.

Course

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Chartiers Creek winds from its headwaters in Washington County through Allegheny County, where it meets the Ohio River at McKees Rocks and Pittsburgh's West End, three miles west of the Point at Pittsburgh.

Tributaries

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(Mouth at the Ohio River)

Environmental issues

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Acid mine drainage, agricultural and industrial runoff, and sewer overflow made Chartiers Creek one of the most polluted watersheds in Pennsylvania. Although improvements have been made, the watershed remains significantly impaired.[9][10]

The main source of acid mine drainage (Iron) in the Chartiers Creek watershed is the Gladden Discharge along Millers Run Creek, a tributary that meets Chartiers Creek in Bridgeville. In 2020, the South Fayette Conservation Group started a project that will treat the polluted water before it enters Millers Run. This will result in Miller’s Run running clear from Cecil to Bridgeville for the first time in generations, while eliminating the single biggest source of pollution along Chartiers Creek [1]

Plans have been considered[11][12] to establish the course of Chartiers Creek as a greenway including a multi-use path that would stretch from Canonsburg Lake to the Ohio River. Such a path could eventually provide connections with the Montour Trail near Lawrence, the Panhandle Trail near Carnegie, and the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in McKees Rocks.

See also

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chartiers Creek.
  1. ^ a b "GNIS Detail - Chartiers Creek". geonames.usgs.gov. US Geological Survey. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Get Maps". USGS Topoview. US Geological Survey. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Get Maps". USGS Topoview. US Geological Survey. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b "ArcGIS Web Application". epa.maps.arcgis.com. US EPA. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Chartiers Creek Watershed Report". US EPA Geoviewer. US EPA. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Chartiers City". Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  7. ^ "Little Chartiers Creek". Geographic Names Information System. 1979-08-02. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  8. ^ "Chartiers Run". Geographic Names Information System. 1979-08-02. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  9. ^ "Watershed Restoration Action Strategy". Archived from the original on 2004-09-25. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  10. ^ "Ecology of Chartiers Creek Stream". Washington & Jefferson College Biology Department. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26.
  11. ^ "Chartiers Creek". Archived from the original on 2008-09-25. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  12. ^ "Chartiers Creek -- the Montour Trail-Letter". Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
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