Wissahickon Valley
| Wissahickon Creek | |
| Stream | |
 Wissahickon Creek runs through Fort Washington State Park
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| Country | USA |
|---|---|
| State | Pennsylvania |
| Regions | Montgomery County, Philadelphia County |
| Source | |
| - coordinates | 40°14′34″N 75°15′16″W / 40.24278°N 75.25444°W |
| Mouth | |
| - coordinates | 40°0′47″N 75°12′25″W / 40.01306°N 75.20694°WCoordinates: 40°0′47″N 75°12′25″W / 40.01306°N 75.20694°W |
| Length | 23 mi (37 km) |
| Basin | 64 sq mi (166 km2) |
 Schuylkill River watershed
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Wissahickon Creek is a tributary of the Schuylkill River in Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Wissahickon Creek rises in Montgomery County, runs approximately 23 miles (37 km) passing through and dividing Northwest Philadelphia before emptying into the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia. Its watershed covers about 64 square miles (170 km2).
Much of the creek now runs through or next to parkland, with the last few miles running through a deep gorge. The beauty of this area attracted the attention of literary personages like Edgar Allan Poe and John Greenleaf Whittier. The gorge area is now part of the Fairmount Park system in Philadelphia, and the Wissahickon Valley is known as one of 600 National Natural Landmarks of the United States.
The name of the creek comes from the Lenape word wiessahitkonk, for "catfish creek" or "stream of yellowish color". On the earliest map of this region of Pennsylvania, by Thomas Holme, the stream is called Whitpaine's creek, after one of the original settlers Richard Whitpaine, who owned several large tracts on the creek. Whitpaine was an early land owner in the days of William Penn.
Industry sprang up along the Wissahickon not long after European settlement, with America's first paper mill set up on one of the Wissahickon's tributaries. A few of the dams built for the mills remain visible today.
Though at first fairly tame, in its last 7 miles (11 km), the Wissahickon stream drops over 100 feet (30 m) in altitude. Its dramatic geography and dense forest attract thousands of walkers, riders, and bikers.
The most popular trail for exploring the lower Wissahickon valley is Forbidden Drive (officially known as Wissahickon Drive), a gravel road that follows the Wissahickon Creek from Lincoln Drive to the County Line. It received its familiar name in the 1920s when automobiles were first banned from the road. Bicyclists and equestrians may use Forbidden Drive without a permit. Other trails in the area are more restricted, with some prohibiting cyclists or equestrians, and the others requiring a permit for bicyclists and equestrians. All users of the park are asked to stay on marked trails to protect against erosion.
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Wikipedia