Catfish Creek (Iowa)

Catfish Creek is a 21.2-mile-long (34.1 km)[1] tributary of the upper Mississippi River in Dubuque County, Iowa. The governments within the watershed have a say in the managing body of the creek, the Catfish Creek Watershed Management Authority. The authority's goal is to promote education on managing the system and fixing issues like the environment.[2]

Catfish Creek (Iowa)
Location
CountryUS
StateIowa
DistrictDubuque County, Iowa
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • coordinates42.4244°N 90.8099°W / 42.4244; -90.8099
MouthMississippi River
 • coordinates
42.4681°N 90.6448°W / 42.4681; -90.6448
 • elevation
600 ft (180 m)
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Catfish Creek (Iowa)

Geography

It rises southwest of Dubuque, just southeast of Peosta. The Middle Fork rises west of Dubuque and flows under and then parallel to U.S. Route 20; the former Illinois Central Railroad, now the Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad has its mainline in it. Swiss Valley Park, maintained by Dubuque County, is along the main fork of the creek, which is a designated trout stream through the park.[3]

The Catfish Creek's drainage basin covers about 9,300 acres of land.[4] Within it are parts of Dubuque, Centralia, Peosta, and Asbury.[5]

History

The last American Indians to live in the area were the Meskwaki. In the 1700s, they settled to the mouth and traded fur with the French. After Julien Dubuque's death, the Meskwaki briefly retook the land but later had to give it up due to the Black Hawk Treaty. Extreme timbering and other exploitations of the lands ensued shortly afterwards.[2]

Erosion and eutrophication are issues for the South Fork.[6] Trails have also been proposed for the Catfish Creek.[7]

See also

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 13, 2011
  2. "Catfish Creek Watershed Management Plan" (PDF). December 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  3. "Dubuque County Conservation Board - Swiss Valley Park". 2007-04-08. Archived from the original on 2007-04-08. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  4. "Upper Catfish Creek Watershed | Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship". iowaagriculture.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  5. "Catfish Creek Watershed Management Authority | Dubuque, IA - Official Website". www.cityofdubuque.org. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  6. "Catfish Creek Streambank Restoration". MSA. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  7. "Catfish Creek Trail Feasibility Study". MSA. Retrieved 2022-10-23.


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