HYDROLOGY OF NEW YORK 2(H) 



The following are the catchment areas of a few of these streams : 



Square miles 



Eighteen Mile creek ( tributary to Lake Ontario) 90 



Johnson creek 105 



Oak Orchard creek 295 



Sandy creek 85 



West and Salmon creeks 110 



Irondequoit river 135 



The following notes on these streams have been collected from 

 various sources: 



Eighteen Mile creek. Eighteen Mile creek rises near Gasport, 

 and flows first westerly and then northerly to Lake Ontario at 

 Olcott. A small branch of the stream flows through the city of 

 Lockport, rising two or three miles south of that city. Ever 

 since the construction of the Erie canal the Lockport branch has 

 received a considerable quantity of water which is discharged by 

 the water powers at Lockport drawing their supply from the 

 canal. 



Oak Orchard creel; . Oak Orchard creek rises in the eastern 

 part of Orleans county, whence it flows to West Shelby and then 

 turns northeasterly, reaching Lake Ontario at Point Breeze. 

 Above West Shelby it mostly flows through swamps and swampy 

 channels, while below that point the country is dry and rolling. 

 The distance from the head of the swamp to its foot near West 

 Shelby is sixteen miles in a direct line, but upwards of twenty 

 miles following the stream channel. The fall of the stream is 37 

 feet, making the average slope 1.8 feet per mile. The topography 

 of the country adjacent to the swamp is level and its boundaries 

 are accordingly indefinite. Large areas of land around the mar- 

 gin of the swamj) are wet during the fall and spring and dry 

 during the summer. There are about 20,000 acres of imperfectly 

 drained or marshy land lying along this portion of the Tonawanda 

 creek and about 25,000 acres in Oak Orchard swamp proper. 

 Swamp lands occur in the towns of Alabama, Byron, Elba and 

 Oakfield in Genesee county. The catchment area of Oak Orchard 

 swamp is about 133 square miles. 



