| Twentymile Creek Tributary to Lake Erie | |
|---|---|
  Location of Twentymile Creek mouth  Twentymile Creek (Lake Erie tributary) (the United States) | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania New York |
| Counties | Erie (PA) Chautauqua (NY) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | divide between Twentymile Creek and Chautauqua Creek |
| ⁃ location | about 3 miles northeast of Sheldon Corners, NY [1] |
| ⁃ coordinates | 42°12′53″N079°38′33″W / 42.21472°N 79.64250°W [2] |
| ⁃ elevation | 1,580 ft (480 m) [1] |
| Mouth | Lake Erie |
⁃ location | about 4 miles northeast of Northeast, Pennsylvania near Orchard Beach [1] |
⁃ coordinates | 42°15′47″N079°47′04″W / 42.26306°N 79.78444°W Coordinates: 42°15′47″N079°47′04″W / 42.26306°N 79.78444°W [2] |
⁃ elevation | 574 ft (175 m) [2] |
| Length | 17.75 mi (28.57 km) [3] |
| Basin size | 34.81 square miles (90.2 km2) [4] |
| Discharge | |
| ⁃ location | Lake Erie |
| ⁃ average | 76.99 cu ft/s (2.180 m3/s) at mouth with Lake Erie [4] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | northwest |
| River system | Lake Erie |
| Tributaries | |
| ⁃ left | unnamed tributaries |
| ⁃ right | Belson Creek |
Twentymile Creek is a tributary of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County, New York and Erie County, Pennsylvania in the United States. [5]
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean.
Lake Erie is the fourth-largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the eleventh-largest globally if measured in terms of surface area. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. At its deepest point Lake Erie is 210 feet deep.
Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 134,905. Its county seat is Mayville, and its largest city is Jamestown. Its name is believed to be the lone surviving remnant of the Erie language, a tongue lost in the Beaver Wars; its meaning is unknown and a subject of speculation. The county was created in 1808 and organized in 1811.
Twentymile Creek joins Lake Erie near the community of Orchard Beach, Pennsylvania. [5]
Twentymile Creek is considered the largest stream on the eastern portion of the City of Erie. It is stocked annually with steelhead and trout by the Pennsylvania Fish Commission. Twentymile Creek is an approved trout water, so its fishing can be good throughout the year. Steelhead run into Twentymile all the way to New York, but not many anglers venture up that far to fish. New York State has undertaken efforts to stock brown trout in the upper reaches of Twentymile as well. The brown trout migrate out into Lake Erie and return to spawn. Access points along Route 20 are posted.
The brown trout is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes both purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, Salmo trutta morpha fario, and a lacustrine ecotype, S. trutta morpha lacustris, also called the lake trout, as well as anadromous forms known as the sea trout, S. trutta morpha trutta. The latter migrates to the oceans for much of its life and returns to fresh water only to spawn. Sea trout in Ireland and Britain have many regional names: sewin in Wales, finnock in Scotland, peal in the West Country, mort in North West England, and white trout in Ireland.
