Neepaulakating Creek

Neepaulakating Creek is a 2.4-mile long (3.8 km) tributary of Papakating Creek in Wantage Township in Sussex County, New Jersey in the United States.[1][2] It is one of three streams feeding the Papakating Creek, a major contributor to the Wallkill River. Although the stream was dammed in the 1950s to create Lake Neepaulin as the focal point of a private residential development, the stream did not receive a name until 2002. Residents chose a name that combined elements of the names "Neepaulin" and "Papakating", and submitted a proposal to the United States Board of Geographic Names. The name was approved in 2004.

Neepaulakating Creek
Neepaulakating Creek near its headwaters northwest of Lake Neepaulin.
EtymologyDerived from the names of Lake Neepaulin and Papakating Creek
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey
CountySussex
MunicipalityWantage Township
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationnorthwest of Sussex and Lake Neepaulin
 • coordinates41°13′23″N 74°38′03″W
 • elevation640 ft (200 m)
MouthPapakating Creek, south of Sussex
 • coordinates
41°11′56″N 74°36′42″W
 • elevation
394 ft (120 m)
Basin features
River systemPapakating Creek (Wallkill River,
Rondout Creek, Hudson River)
[1][2]

Course and watershed

Neepaulakating Creek is small stream whose headwaters are located at 640 feet (195 m) above sea level approximately 0.4 miles (0.6 km) northwest of the north end of Lake Neepaulin.[1][2][3] These headwaters are located a short distance south of County Route 650 (Libertyville Road) roughly halfway between the hamlet of Libertville in Wantage Township and Sussex Borough.[2][4] The stream flows into Lake Neepaulin located at 509 ft (155 m) above sea level.[5] The man-made lake, created through damming, is the centre of a private residential development.[6] It flows southeast from the lake's dam in the southeast direction for another 1.5 miles (2.4 km) before flowing into Papakating Creek. It enters Papakating Creek at 395 feet (120 m) above sea level approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) upstream of that creek's junction with the Wallkill River at a location directly south of Sussex Borough along County Route 565 near the hamlet of Lewisburg in Wantage Township and near Sussex Airport.[1][2][3][7]

Along with the Clove Brook and West Branch Papakating Creek, Neepaulakating Creek is one the tributaries that form the 60.6 square miles (157 km2) watershed of Papakating Creek, a major tributary of the Wallkill River. The Papakating Creek watershed is located in the Kittatinny Valley, is underlain by dark shale and limestone of the Martinsburg Formation, and has soils of glacial origin. The topography of the Papakating Creek's watershed ranges from gentle slopes in the east to steeper slopes in the west.[8][9] According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the Papakating watershed consists of gently sloping farmland, forested land, wetlands, older individually built homes, and low-density residential development.[10]

According to NJDEP reports, two developed lake communities in the Papakating Creek watershed—Lake Neepaulin and the nearby Clove Acres Lake contribute to phosphorus loading in the waters of Papakating Creek. The phosphorus loading may originate from the runoff of fertilizer applications on residential lawns, nearby agricultural operations, or from large populations of geese that inhabit the lakes.[10]

History and naming

In the 1950s, a real estate developer dammed an unnamed stream located to the west and south of Sussex Borough and created Lake Neepaulin. The lake was the center of a planned private lakeside residential community.[6] In 2002, an organization known as Friends of Lake Neepaulin, began using "Neepaulakating Creek" as a new name for an unnamed stream that was dammed to create the lake.[3] After a review of resources available on the internet, topographic maps, and other government and historical documents, a state engineer reported there was no evidence the stream had any previous name.[11] The name chosen, Neepaulakating, was a combination of portions of the names "Neepaulin" and "Papakating". Lake Neepaulin was named after a combination of the original developers children's names.[1][3][12]

A formal proposal prepared by the residents was submitted to the Board of Geographic Names by Nathaniel Sajdak, described as the Outreach Coordinator of the Wallkill River Watershed and a member of Friends of Lake Neepaulin.[3] Sajdak reported to the United States Geological Survey's Board of Geographic Names that studies such as visual and biological assessments were carried out on the unnamed stream by the Lake Neepaulin Lake Association for roughly two years, during which time they had begun to call it "Neepaulakating Creek".[3] On February 25, 2004, the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders unanimously approved a resolution to support the naming, stating that the county government "defers to the Township of Wantage and concurs with the naming of the tributary as 'Neepaulakating Creek'".[13] On April 8, 2004, the Board of Geographic Names approved the proposal.[14]

  • Neepaulakating Creek near its headwaters
  • Lake Neepaulin looking northwest from the dam
  • Lake Neepaulin dam
  • Looking southeast (downstream) from the dam
  • The creek and marsh near Newton Avenue in Wantage
  • The creek before it flows under County Route 639

See also

References
  1. United States Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, Feature Detail Report for: Neepaulakating Creek. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  2. United States Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map. Retrieved June 26, 2015. Note: The upper elevation of its headwaters is approximately 640 feet above mean sea level derived from a reading of the USGS NHD topographic map. The NHD information provides the elevation the mouth at 395 feet above mean sea level. See also: United States Geological Survey, Hamburg, NJ Quadrangle USGS 1:24 Topographic Map 41074B5 and Branchville, NJ Quadrangle USGS 1:24 Topographic Map 41074B4.
  3. Friends of Lake Neepaulin, Nathaniel Sajdak, Jennifer E. Runyon (USGS), United States Board of Geographic Names, Case Brief: Neepaulakating Creek (2002). Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  4. Google, Inc., Google Maps location for 41°13'23.3"N 74°38'01.6"W (source). Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  5. United States Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, Feature Detail Report for: Lake Neepaulin. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  6. Eric Oberhauer, "Wantage resident suing over costs of Lake Neepaulin dam", The New Jersey Herald, April 22, 2012.
  7. Google, Inc., Google Maps location for 41°11'56.7"N 74°36'40.4"W (mouth). Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  8. Avery Ala Drake Jr., Richard A. Volkert, Donald H. Monteverde, Gregory C. Herman, Hugh F. Houghton, Ronald A. Parker, and Richard F. Dalton, I2540a: Bedrock geologic map of northern New Jersey, IMAP. (Washington DC: United States Geological Survey, 1997). Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  9. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Watershed Management, Amendment to the Sussex County Water Quality Management Plan: Total Maximum Daily Load to Address Phosphorus in the Clove Acres Lake and Papakating Creek Northwest Water Region (2004), 9, 15. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  10. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, State Development & Redevelopment Plan. Plan Endorsement Opportunities & Constraints: Analysis for Township of Frankford, Sussex County (2009), 14, 16. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  11. Correspondence from William P. Graff (NJDEP) to Roger L. Payne (USGS) (September 9, 2002). Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  12. E-mail corresponsdence Jim Rementer (Lenape Language Project) to Jennifer E. Runyon, USGS BGN (March 24, 2004). Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  13. Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Resolution Re: Support of the submission of a proposal by the Township of Wantage to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names regarding the naming of a tributary in Sussex County "Neepaulakating Creek" (February 25, 2004). Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  14. Letter from Roger L. Payne (USGS) to James L. Doherty (Wantage Township Administrator Clerk) (April 30, 2004). Retrieved June 26, 2015. Quote: "U.S. Board on Geographic Names, at its April 8, 2004, meeting, approved the proposal to name an unnamed stream in Sussex County, Neepaulakating Creek. This decision was made in agreement with the findings and recommendations of your office, the government of Sussex County, and the New Jersey Board on Geographic Names."
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