Kiskiminetas River | |
River | |
View across the Kiskiminetas River, looking downstream from the shoreline along Leechburg, Pennsylvania
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Country | United States |
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State | Pennsylvania |
Source | Confluence of Conemaugh River and Loyalhanna Creek |
- location | Saltsburg, Pennsylvania |
- coordinates | 40°29′8″N 79°27′14″W / 40.48556°N 79.45389°W |
Mouth | Allegheny River |
- location | Schenley, Pennsylvania |
- elevation | 745 ft (227 m) |
- coordinates | 40°40′46″N 79°40′1″W / 40.67944°N 79.66694°WCoordinates: 40°40′46″N 79°40′1″W / 40.67944°N 79.66694°W |
Length | 27 mi (43 km) |
The Kiskiminetas River (called the Kiski for short) is a tributary of the Allegheny River, approximately 27 miles (43 km) long, in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. The region stretching from Harmar Township, Pennsylvania to the Kiskiminetas towns is often referred to by the locals as the Alle-Kiski Valley after the rivers.
The Kiskiminetas River is formed at Saltsburg, on the border between Westmoreland and Indiana counties, by the confluence of the Conemaugh River and Loyalhanna Creek. It flows northwest in a meandering course past Avonmore, Apollo, Vandergrift, Hyde Park and Leechburg. It joins the Allegheny River near Freeport at Schenley, approximately 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Pittsburgh.
The Kiski-Conemaugh watershed includes much of the historic coal-producing region of Western Pennsylvania. The water quality is considered degraded by numerous abandoned mine drainages in its upper reaches and tributaries, leading to on-going efforts by federal, state, and private agencies to improve the water quality of the river. The Kittanning Path, a major trail in the region used by Native Americans and early European settlers, crossed the river at a ford near present-day Leechburg.