East Kill
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| East Kill | |
|---|---|
  Location of mouth within New York  East Kill (the United States) | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| Region | Catskill Mountains |
| County | Greene |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • coordinates | 42°13′50″N 74°04′29″W / 42.2306434°N 74.0748589°W[1] |
| Mouth | Schoharie Creek |
• location | Jewett Center |
• coordinates | 42°14′11″N 74°19′09″W / 42.2364758°N 74.3190350°W[1] |
• elevation | 1,381 ft (421 m)[1] |
| Length | 16 mi (26 km)[2] |
| Basin size | 36.3 sq mi (94 km2)[3] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Jewett Center |
| • minimum | 0.84 cu ft/s (0.024 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 28,400 cu ft/s (800 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | East Kill → Schoharie Creek → Mohawk River → Hudson River → Upper New York Bay |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Halsey Brook, Roaring Brook, Pasture Brook |
East Kill, a 16-mile-long (26 km)[2] tributary of Schoharie Creek, flows across the town of Jewett, New York, United States, from its source on Stoppel Point. Ultimately its waters reach the Hudson River via the Mohawk. Since it drains into the Schoharie upstream of Schoharie Reservoir, it is part of the New York City water supply system. East Kill drains the southern 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 East Kill's 36.3-square-mile (94 km2)[3] watershed accounts for 3.9 percent of the Schoharie basin and is located near the southern end of that creek's watershed.
East Kill begins as a mountainous stream dropping approximately 780 feet (240 m) in its first mile, then reduces in slope to dropping about 200 feet (61 m) over the next mile. The remainder of the creek drops to an average slope of 42 feet (13 m) per mile until it reaches its confluence with Schoharie Creek.
East Kill begins on the northwestern slopes of Stoppel Point and begins flowing northwestward, then soon curves to the west. It continues west for a short distance, then flows into Colgate Lake, a 29-acre (12 ha) lake. It exits the lake then passes by the East Kill Valley Church, as it continues along the road. It soon recei ves Halsey Brook from the north, which drains the southwestern slopes of Black Dome and the southeastern slopes of Thomas Cole Mountain, the third and fourth of the Catskill High Peaks respectively. The creek then curves northward, passes through East Jewett, then curves back west. It then soon reaches Camp Beecher, where it curves north and begins to parallel State Route 296. After a short distance it curves back west and crosses under State Route 296. It soon receives Roaring Brook from the north, which drains part of the southern slope of Cave Mountain. East Kill then soon turns to the southwest, and soon converges with Schoharie Creek in Jewett Center.
Watershed
The East Kill's 36.25-square-mile (93.9 km2) watershed, is mostly located within the town of Jewett, with a few small sections entering into the towns of Windham, Ashland, and Lexington.[2] East Kill drains some of the highest slopes in the Catskills, including the Blackhead Mountains. The Blackhead Mountain range includes Thomas Cole Mountain, Black Dome, and Blackhead Mountain, the fourth-, third-, and fifth-highest peaks in the Catskills, respectively. The highest point in the East Kill watershed is 3,948 feet (1,203 m) at the summit of Black Dome Mountain in southeast Jewett. The average elevation of the watershed is approximately 2,674 feet (815 m).[2]
Within the watershed, the predominant land cover is undeveloped forested area, at 20,808 acres (32.513 sq mi) or 90 percent of the watershed. About 2.5 percent of the watershed is developed and the remaining 7.5 percent is shrubland. Water covers 104 acres (42 ha); the National Wetlands Inventory maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified 168 separate wetlands within the East Kill watershed, totaling 311 acres (126 ha), including all open water. About 84.5 percent of the total acreage is palustrine wetlands such as marshes and swamps.
History
When settlers first arrived in the East Kill Valley, they frequently encountered bears, wolves, and other dangerous wildlife. This caused many of the first settlers to only stay in the area for a short time. A man by the name of John Godsell, known as Uncle John by the locals, was an expert trapper along the creek, who killed between 40 and 50 wolves in the East Kill Valley. One wolf he tied up and tried to bring to the nearby town of Cairo, in order to get a larger bounty. The wolf died before Godsell was able to reach Cairo.[4]
From the late 1700s to early 1800s, the local economy thrived on the sale of hemlock bark, which was used to tan leather. The local industry later shifted to logging as lumber demands rose in the area. When the majority of the forests were cleared, dairy farms became the dominant economic revenue in the East Kill valley.[4]
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 East Kill's valley was formed during the recent effects of the Wisconsin glaciation, which ended about 12,000 years ago. Meltwater fed many streams, which eventually formed today's East Kill.[5]
Lodgement till, which is a very dense, clay-rich, and reddish brown deposit, is very frequent in the East Kill and upper Schoharie Creek watersheds. The extreme density is distinguished from the looser assemblage of mixed sediment that comprises melt-out till found in moraines and along mountain sides. The presence of bedrock banks in the East Kill can represent natural limits to changes in the stream channel system. Examples of this are shown in the headwater waterfalls.[5]