Quittapahilla Creek (nicknamed the "Quittie") is a 16.8-mile-long (27.0 km) tributary of Swatara Creek in south-central Pennsylvania in the United States. The original Lenape name for this waterway is Kuwektəpehəle, which means 'it flows out (ktəpehəle) from the pines (kuwe)'.
Quittapahilla Creek rises in eastern Lebanon County, flows west-southwest through Lebanon and Annville, and joins Swatara Creek northeast of Palmyra.
From the late 18th century to the mid 19th century, the creek was used as part of the route of the Union Canal, which connected the headwaters of the creek with Tulpehocken Creek, a tributary of the Schuylkill River.
By the late 20th century the creek had become polluted from steel mill waste. The decline of industry in the region, as well as federal, state, and local efforts, have led to an improvement in the quality of the water. The stream is stocked annually with trout and it has become a popular destination for recreation fly fishing.
Read more about Quittapahilla Creek: Tributaries
Famous quotes containing the word creek:
“It might be seen by what tenure men held the earth. The smallest stream is mediterranean sea, a smaller ocean creek within the land, where men may steer by their farm bounds and cottage lights. For my own part, but for the geographers, I should hardly have known how large a portion of our globe is water, my life has chiefly passed within so deep a cove. Yet I have sometimes ventured as far as to the mouth of my Snug Harbor.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)