Salt Creek (Little Calumet River)
| Salt Creek | |
| Little Salt Creek | |
| stream | |
 |
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Indiana |
| Region | Porter County |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Block Ditch, Clark Ditch, Squirrel Creek (Indiana), Robbins Ditch |
| - right | Beauty Creek, Pepper Creek (Indiana), Butternut Springs, Damon Run, Gustafson Ditch |
| Cities | Burns Harbor, Portage, South Haven, Valparaiso |
| Source | |
| - elevation | 720 ft (219 m) |
| - coordinates | 41°25′21″N 087°01′27″W / 41.42250°N 87.02417°W |
| Mouth | East Arm Little Calumet River |
| - location | Burns Harbor, Porter County, Indiana |
| - elevation | 591 ft (180 m) |
| - coordinates | 41°36′41″N 087°09′01″W / 41.61139°N 87.15028°WCoordinates: 41°36′41″N 087°09′01″W / 41.61139°N 87.15028°W |
Salt Creek is a 24.0-mile-long (38.6 km) tributary of the East Arm Little Calumet River that begins south of Valparaiso in Porter County, Indiana and flows north until it joins the East Arm Little Calumet River just before it exits to Lake Michigan via the Port of Indiana-Burns Waterway.
In the 1936 centennial history of Liberty Township, the nineteenth century Salt Creek watershed is described: "As the years passed the land has been drained by various ditch projects and the forests have bowed before the axes of the pioneers and their descendants. These two factors have contributed to a gradual shrinking of the size of the streams and lakes. Any one doubting this has but to observe the difference between the banks of our creeks and the present streams or study old maps of the township showing the great millponds which have disappeared. Such maps published as late as 1876 show a great expanse of water in the northwest, spreading over acres of land which are now the fertile fields of August Hockelberg, Daly Brothers and Julius Turk. Anyone looking at Salt Creek, now even in time of flood, can hardly realize that there was once a project for boats to steam down Salt Creek to convey grain and lumber to Chicago by way of the Calumet river."
The Salt Creek watershed was criss-crossed historically by important Indian trails. The "Pottawatomie Trail" was the north end of a major path from the Wabash River to Lake Michigan and after entering Porter County, and passing east of what is now Valparaiso, this trail followed the crest of the moraine between Coffee Creek and Salt Creek and ended at the beach.
The Salt Creek watershed covers 19% of Porter County and 49,573 acres (20,061 ha), including the communities of Valparaiso, South Haven, Portage and Burns Harbor, Indiana.
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Wikipedia