Batavia Kill (Schoharie Creek tributary)
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| Batavia Kill | |
|---|---|
 Red Falls | |
  Location of mouth within New York  Batavia Kill (Schoharie Creek tributary) (the United States) | |
| Native name | Chough-tig-hig-nick |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| Region | Catskill Mountains |
| County | Greene |
| Towns | Windham, Ashland, Prattsville |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | NNE slopes of Blackhead Mountain |
| • location | Greene County, New York |
| • coordinates | 42°16′25″N 74°06′03″W / 42.2736975°N 74.1009705°W[1] |
| Mouth | Schoharie Creek |
• location | SE of Prattsville |
• coordinates | 42°18′08″N 74°25′15″W / 42.3023067°N 74.4207038°W[1] |
• elevation | 1,158 ft (353 m)[1] |
| Basin size | 73.2 sq mi (190 km2)[2] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Red Falls |
| • minimum | 1.7 cu ft/s (0.048 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 44,200 cu ft/s (1,250 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Batavia Kill → Schoharie Creek → Mohawk River → Hudson River → Upper New York Bay |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Mad Brook, North Settlement Brook, West Hollow Brook, Lewis Creek |
| Waterfalls | Red Falls |
Batavia Kill is a 21-mile-long (34 km) tributary of Schoharie Creek that flows across the towns of Windham, Ashland and Prattsville in the U.S. state of New York. Its waters reach the Hudson River via Schoharie Creek and the Mohawk River. Since it drains into the Schoharie upstream of Schoharie Reservoir, it is part of the New York City water supply system. From the source to Maplecrest, Batavia Kill drains the northern slopes of the Blackhead Mountains, which include Thomas Cole Mountain, Black Dome, and Blackhead Mountain, the fourth-, third-, and fifth-highest peaks in the Catskills, respectively.
The Batavia Kill's 73.2-square-mile (190 km2)[2] watershed accounts for 7.9 percent of the Schoharie Creek's watershed, and about 30 percent of the Schoharie Reservoir's watershed.
Batavia Kill begins on the north-northeast slopes of Blackhead Mountain and starts travelling northwest as it gains an unnamed tributary draining northeast slopes of Black Dome. The kill continues northwest and gains an unnamed tributary draining the southwest slopes of Acra Point. It slowly curves southwest as it descends the Black Dome Valley and enters the hamlet of Maplecrest, where it curves back to the northwest. The creek then passes through Hensonville, passes under New York State Route 296 as it curves to the west, and begins to parallel New York State Route 23. It then enters the hamlet of Windham, where it receives Mitchell Hollow Brook from the north. It continues paralleling New York State Route 23 as it enters the town of Ashland. It soon enters the hamlet of Ashland, where it receives Sutton Hollow Brook from the north. The kill continues westward and soon receives Lewis Creek from the north. The kill then enters the town of Prattsville and soon flows over Red Falls by the hamlet of the same name. Batavia Kill then curves to the southwest, crosses under New York State Route 23A, then converges with Schoharie Creek southeast of the hamlet of Prattsville.
Watershed
The Batavia Kill's 73.2-square-mile (190 km2) watershed,[2] flows 21 miles (34 km) through the towns of Windham, Ashland and Prattsville to its confluence with the Schoharie Creek, near the hamlet of Prattsville. From Big Hollow where the kill originates, it drops from about 3,600 feet (1,100 m) to 1,158 feet (353 m) at the mouth,[1] a drop of about 2,440 feet (740 m).[3]
The watershed is also asymmetrical, with the main Batavia Kill located on the south side of the watershed. The majority of the drainage area is north of the kill. The watershed is approximately 17-mile-long (27 km) and varies from 5 to 7 miles (8.0 to 11.3 km) wide.[3]
Water withdrawn from the kill is approximately 286,000,000 US gallons (1,080,000 m3) per year, which includes water taken from ground and surface water sources. About 55 percent of water withdrawn is by Ski Windham. Residential wells withdraw about 12 percent of the water withdrawals. Ski Windham can only take a maximum of 3,142 gallons per minute from the kill, which is regulated through a NYSDEC permit.[4]
Within the watershed, the predominant land cover is undeveloped forested area, at 80 percent. Mixed grass and shrubs is the second most common land cover, with just over 1 percent being impervious surfaces and agricultural uses. This has not always been the case in the past, as most of the watershed was stripped of its trees during the 1700 and 1800s. As the watershed reverts to forests, total rainfall runoff and flashiness is decreasing.[5] The National Wetlands Inventory maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated 1.9 percent, or 902 acres (1.409 sq mi), of the watershed as wetlands.[6]
Geology
While the Catskills originated during the Devonian period, around 375 million years ago, as a former river delta uplifted and became a dissected plateau, the Batavia Kill's valley was formed during the recent effects of the Wisconsin glaciation, which ended about 12,000 years ago.[7]
The most recent geological impact on the kill was the recent Wisconsin Glaciation, which occurred around 16,000 years ago. The Wisconsin ice sheet was divided into three major lobes of southward moving ice. The easternmost lobe of the ice sheet, known as the Labrador lobe, was the one that last influenced the Batavia Kill watershed. Geological evidence within the area show that the Batavia Kill watershed was influenced by ice from four or more different directions. The glaciers moved through the Batavia Kill Valley almost to the Schoharie Creek, with ice also pushing into the upper Batavia Kill watershed. Also at this time, the Grand Gorge glacier was advancing up the Schoharie Valley and some of this ice pushed up the Batavia Kill valley, almost colliding with it. As the glaciers retreated, the Schoharie Valley was blocked by stalled ice near Grand Gorge, which developed a large lake. Parts of the lake extended deep into the Batavia Kill watershed. Present day evidence shows that this ancient lake extended as far as Big Hollow. As the glaciers retreated, they left layers of fine clay and silt. These same clay deposits effects water quality to this day, as the stream slowly erodes into these layers.[7]
In the kill's watershed the bedrock exposed mostly in the higher elevations, with soils and other deposits covering the bedrock in the lower elevations. Most of the bedrock in the Batavia Kill watershed is fractured, which benefits groundwater retention and recharge. Roughly 91 percent of the soils covering the bedrock within the Batavia Kill watershed have mostly moderate to very poor permeability. As a result, the watershed is very sensitive to the effects of rainfall due to little precipitation infiltrating into the ground. The type of soils in the watershed are very prone to erosion, which contributes to excess sediment to enter into the stream system.[7]