Tilhance Creek

Last updated March 07, 2019

Tilhance Creek is a 10.4-mile-long (16.7 km)^[1] tributary stream of Back Creek in Berkeley County of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle.

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean.

A stream is a body of water with surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. The stream encompasses surface and groundwater fluxes that respond to geological, geomorphological, hydrological and biotic controls.

Berkeley County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Headwaters and course

Tilhance Creek's source is a spring on the eastern flank of Third Hill Mountain (2172 feet/662 m) in western Berkeley County, West Virginia. From its headwaters, the stream trickles eastward down the mountain's forested slope where it is dammed to create a small farm lake. From the impoundment, Tilhance Creek meanders to the north and is joined by a series of other spring-fed streams flowing off Third Hill Mountain. Tilhance Creek then turns again to the east near the community of Baxter. The stream meanders northward flowing along the western flank of Ferrell Ridge (715 feet/218 m). It is at this location that Tilhance Creek is joined by Whites Run and a small unnamed stream whose source lies near Hedgesville Church. Shortly before the stream reaches West Virginia Route 9, it is joined by Higgins Run and splits to form a small island. After passing under WV 9, Tilhance Creek flows by the community of Johnsontown (also known as Soho). From Johnsontown, Tilhance Creek meanders through a series of rolling hills until its confluence with Back Creek near Allensville.

Third Hill Mountain is both the highest and most topographically prominent mountain in Berkeley County within the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Third Hill Mountain reaches its highest elevation of 2,165 feet (660 m) above sea-level southeast of the "Locks-of-the-Mountain" where it "locks" with Sleepy Creek Mountain. The long distance Tuscarora Trail passes along ridge and bench of the mountain.

Baxter is an unincorporated community in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States. The community lies near Tilhance Creek.

West Virginia Route 9 (WV 9) is a major east–west state highway located in the eastern extents of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The western terminus of the route is at the Maryland state line north of Paw Paw, where WV 9 becomes Maryland Route 51 (MD 51) upon crossing the Potomac River. The eastern terminus is at the Virginia state line at Keyes Gap near Mannings, West Virginia, where WV 9 continues onward as Virginia State Route 9 (SR 9).

Fishing

Tilhance Creek is stocked with trout once in February and once every two weeks from March through May by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources from near Johnsontown at the WV 9 bridge.

Trout is the common name for a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera Oncorhynchus, Salmo and Salvelinus, all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word trout is also used as part of the name of some non-salmonid fish such as Cynoscion nebulosus, the spotted seatrout or speckled trout.

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia. While formerly known as the cabinet-level Department of Natural Resources, it is now part of the West Virginia Department of Commerce. The WVDNR is responsible for wildlife management, hunting and fishing regulations, and boater safety and also oversees state parks and resorts. It also operates the West Virginia State Wildlife Center, a zoo in French Creek that exhibits West Virginian wildlife.

Variant names

According to the Geographic Names Information System, Tilhance Creek has been known by a number of names throughout its history. The Board on Geographic Names officially decided upon Tilhance Creek as the stream's name in 1901.

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer. GNIS was developed by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) to promote the standardization of feature names.

Tilahanchee Creek
Tilchances Branch
Tilchancos Creek
Tilehance Creek
Tilhance Branch
Tillehances Creek

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References

↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011

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[NHD-1] U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011