Horse Creek (Tombigbee River tributary) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Horse Creek |
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|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | Alabama |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Clarke County 31°56′11″N 87°45′31″W / 31.93626°N 87.75861°W |
| River mouth | Marengo County, Tombigbee River 33 ft (10 m) 32°04′38″N 88°03′15″W / 32.07709°N 88.05418°W |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 60.4 sq mi (156 km2) |
Horse Creek is a small stream in Alabama, United States. It's like a smaller river that flows into a bigger one. Horse Creek is a tributary of the Tombigbee River. You can find it in the southern part of Marengo County and the northern part of Clarke County.
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Where is Horse Creek?
Horse Creek starts its journey in Clarke County, near a place called Choctaw Corner. Its starting point is at these coordinates: 31°56′11″N 87°45′31″W / 31.93626°N 87.75861°W.
The creek then flows until it reaches the Tombigbee River. This happens near a town called Putnam in Marengo County. The spot where it joins the Tombigbee River is at these coordinates: 32°04′38″N 88°03′15″W / 32.07709°N 88.05418°W.
How Big is Horse Creek?
Horse Creek has a "watershed" of about 60.4 square miles (156 km2). A watershed is the area of land where all the rain and water drain into that particular creek or river.
The amount of water flowing through Horse Creek is also measured. It has a "discharge" of about 28,100 cubic feet (800 m3) every second. This tells us how much water moves past a certain point in the creek over time.
Ancient History of Horse Creek
Long, long ago, people lived near Horse Creek. Archeologists, who are like history detectives, have studied the area. In the 1980s, they found clues that show Horse Creek might have been an important boundary.
The Miller Culture
The area around Horse Creek was home to people from the Miller culture. This culture was part of a larger group known as the Hopewell tradition. Before these discoveries, experts thought the Miller culture's southern boundary was much further north. The new findings suggest Horse Creek was a significant dividing line for these ancient communities.
Mysterious Mounds
In 1905, an archeologist named Clarence Bloomfield Moore explored the area. He traveled on his steamboat, the Gopher, looking for ancient sites. Near where Horse Creek meets the Tombigbee River, he found a special kind of mound.
This mound was shaped like a pyramid with a flat top, not like the small, round burial mounds often found nearby. Moore thought this flat-topped mound might have been a place where people lived, rather than a burial site.
Because there weren't many other similar sites from the Mississippian culture in that river valley, Moore believed this mound was from an even older time, called the Woodland period. These mounds give us clues about the ancient people who lived along Horse Creek thousands of years ago.
