Big Walnut Creek

Big Walnut Creek
Big Walnut Creek
	The confluence of Big Walnut Creek and Alum Creek at Three Creeks Metro Park
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	~ 1 mi (1.6 km) southwest of Mount Gilead, Ohio
• elevation	~ 1,180 ft (360 m)
Mouth
• location	Scioto River near Lockbourne, Ohio
• elevation	~ 665 ft (203 m)
Basin size	557 sq mi (1,440 km2)
Discharge
• location	Rees
• average	529.4 cu ft/s (14.99 m3/s), USGS water years 1974-2019

Big Walnut Creek starts near Mount Gilead, Ohio in Morrow County. It flows south to eastern Delaware County and parallels Alum Creek. It passes to the east of Sunbury and into Hoover Reservoir, which then crosses into Franklin County. From the dam outflow in Westerville the creek flows through Gahanna and Whitehall. Near Obetz it is joined by its principal tributaries Alum Creek and Blacklick Creek at the Three Creeks Columbus Metro Park. It flows through southern Franklin County and joins the Scioto River near the Franklin-Pickaway Counties line at 39°47′57″N 83°00′34″W / 39.799305°N 83.009373°W / 39.799305; -83.009373.

Name

Big Walnut Creek was named for black walnut trees which once grew in old-growth forests near the stream.^[5] According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Big Walnut Creek has also been known as:^[6]

^ U.S. Geological Survey. Mount Gilead quadrangle, Ohio. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Washington D.C.: USGS, 1973.
^ U.S. Geological Survey. Commercial Point quadrangle, Ohio. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Washington D.C.: USGS, 1988.
^ "USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 03229500". waterdata.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
^ "Map of Ohio watersheds". Archived from the original on 2012-10-15.
^ History of Delaware County and Ohio. O. L. Baskin & Company. 1880. p. 575.
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Big Walnut Creek