Catharine Creek

Catharine Creek
Country	United States
State	New York
Source
- location	Town of Veteran, Chemung County
- coordinates	42°16′15″N 76°46′21″W / 42.27083°N 76.77250°W / 42.27083; -76.77250
Mouth	Seneca Lake
- location	Watkins Glen, Schuyler County
- coordinates	42°21′05″N 76°51′04″W / 42.35139°N 76.85111°W / 42.35139; -76.85111Coordinates: 42°21′05″N 76°51′04″W / 42.35139°N 76.85111°W / 42.35139; -76.85111
Length	15 mi (24 km)
Location of the mouth of Catharine Creek in New York State.

Catharine Creek is a roughly 15-mile-long (24 km) stream that flows through Chemung and Schuyler counties in New York. The creek, named after Catharine Montour, is a major tributary to Seneca Lake.

While the other waterways of Chemung County are part of the Susquehanna River basin, Catharine Creek is part of the St. Lawrence River basin. It flows into Seneca Lake, the largest of the Finger Lakes, which drains into Lake Ontario via the Seneca and Oswego rivers.

Catharine Creek rises atop a ridge in the Town of Veteran in Chemung County. It flows south to an area known locally as the Holding Point in Horseheads. It then flows back to the north, mostly alongside Route 14, through the communities of Pine Valley, Millport, Montour Falls, and Watkins Glen.

The Chemung Canal ran through the Catharine Creek valley from Horseheads to Seneca Lake during the mid-19th century, facilitating transportation and shipping between the southern New York region and the United States' east coast. Some remnants remain in Catharine Creek Marsh, a 1,000-acre (400 ha) wetlands complex located between Montour Falls and Watkins Glen. After the canal closed in 1878, the Pennsylvania Railroad took over much of the canal's right-of-way.