Chartiers Creek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chartiers Creek |
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1751 map depicting Chartiers Creek (labeled as "Shartees Cr.", at top edge of map)
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Location of Chartiers Creek mouth
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| Other name(s) | Tributary to Ohio River |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Allegheny Washington |
| City | Washington |
| Borough | Canonsburg Carnegie McKees Rocks Thornburg Heidelberg Bridgeville Houston |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Fork of Bane Creek divide about 0.25 miles north of Van Buren, Pennsylvania 1,220 ft (370 m) 40°05′05″N 080°17′16″W / 40.08472°N 80.28778°W |
| River mouth | Ohio River McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania 710 ft (220 m) 40°27′54″N 080°03′10″W / 40.46500°N 80.05278°W |
| Length | 47.60 mi (76.60 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | generally northeast |
| River system | Ohio River |
| Basin size | 277.42 square miles (718.5 km2) |
| Tributaries |
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| Waterbodies | Reservoir #2 |
| Bridges | PA 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, Carothers Avenue, W Main Street, 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, a trapper of French and Native American parentage who established a trading post at the mouth of the creek in 1743.
Course
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
(Mouth at the Ohio River)
- Little Chartiers Creek joins Chartiers Creek at Peters Township.
- Chartiers Run joins Chartiers Creek at the borough of Houston.
Environmental issues
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.
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 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.
