| Octoraro Creek | |
|---|---|
 Kayakers on Octoraro Creek | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Lancaster and Chester counties |
| Mouth | |
• location | Susquehanna River |
• coordinates | 39°39′22″N 76°09′31″W / 39.6562°N 76.1587°W |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Susquehanna River |
Octoraro Creek is a 22.1-mile-long (35.6 km)[1] tributary of the Susquehanna River, joining it 9 miles (14 km) above the Susquehanna's mouth at Chesapeake Bay. The Octoraro rises as an East and West Branch in Pennsylvania. The East Branch and Octoraro Creek form the southern half of the border between Lancaster and Chester counties until the creek crosses the Mason-Dixon line. It winds through northwestern Cecil County, Maryland before joining the Susquehanna.
Each of the branches is less than 20 miles (32 km) long. The entire creek drains 208 square miles (540 km2) of watershed. Octoraro Creek was designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River by Legislative Act 1983-43, managed by the Octoraro Creek Watershed Association. A brick tunnel leading to Octoraro Creek was built by Charles Spotts[2] and used by slaves travelling the Underground Railway through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
- ^ "National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data". The National Map. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
- ^ "THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN SOUTHERN LANCASTER COUNTY". Retrieved 2012-07-05.