Wills Creek (Ohio)

Wills Creek
Wills Creek near its mouth, flowing from Wills Creek Dam
Location
CountryU.S.
Physical characteristics
Mouth 
 • location
Muskingum River on the border of Muskingum and Coshocton counties
 • elevation
715 ft (218 m)[1]
Length92.2 mi (148.4 km)[2]
Basin size853 sq mi (2,210 km2)[2]
Discharge 
 • locationUSGS gauge, Wills Creek Dam at Wills Creek
 • average883.5 cu ft/s (25.02 m3/s), water years 1985-1991[3]
Discharge 
 • locationmouth
 • average1,025.4 cu ft/s (29.04 m3/s) (estimate)[4]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • rightLeatherwood Creek

Wills Creek is a tributary of the Muskingum River, 92.2 mi (148.4 km) long, in eastern Ohio in the United States. Via the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. It drains an area of 853 mi2 (2,209 km2).[2]

The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "Wills Creek" as the stream's name in 1963. According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as "Cou-wach-en-ink" and as "Will's Creek."[1]

Wills Creek is formed by a confluence of short forks near Pleasant City in southern Guernsey County,[5] and initially flows northwardly through Byesville, Cambridge and Kimbolton. Near Kimbolton it turns westwardly and flows through southeastern Coshocton and northeastern Muskingum Counties, past Plainfield, to its mouth at the Muskingum River,[6] 8 mi (13 km) south of the city of Coshocton.[5]

Near its mouth, a flood-control dam causes the creek to form Wills Creek Lake.[7]

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wills Creek
  2. ^ a b c Ohio Department of Natural Resources. A Guide to Ohio Streams. Archived 2005-09-04 at the Wayback Machine Chapter 10: Major Ohio Watersheds (pdf) Archived 2007-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics for Ohio: USGS 03143500 Wills Creek bl Wills Creek Dam at Wills Creek OH". waterdata.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  4. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Wills Creek". watersgeo.epa.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  5. ^ a b "Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry". Archived from the original on 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2006-05-09.
  6. ^ DeLorme (1991). Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-233-1
  7. ^ Wills Creek Lake website