Image of Green Mountains from Killington Peak, looking into the Otter Creek Basin. Photo: James Snook
Experience Otter Creek
Explore the Waters of the Otter Creek from Headwaters to Lowlands
By James D. Snook
The Otter Creek Basin watershed (Basin) is located in central Vermont, encompasses an area that is 1,506 km2 (936 miles2) and includes the watersheds of Otter Creek, plus the smaller Lewis Creek and Little Otter Creek in the lowlands. The main stem of the high-quality Otter Creek is the longest flatwater boating segment in Vermont, with waterfalls, cascades, gorges, scenic segments, Class II-III rapids, swimming holes, and fishing areas. The Otter Creek Basin’s watershed footprint falls within the USEPA’s Northeastern Highlands Level III Ecoregion (USEPA, 2013).
Figure 1: Photo of the highlands of Otter Creek Basin from Pico Peak (image credit: http://4000footers.com/pico.shtml).
Experience the Headwaters:
Kayak down the Otter Creek’s high-quality headwaters. The main stem of the Otter Creek flows out of the Green Mountain National Forest through Wallingford toward Rutland, Vermont.
Figure 2: Video of kayaking on the Otter Creek at Wallingford, VT on October 18, 2018.
A Historic View of the Marble Valleys:
The headwaters of the Otter Creek Basin originate at higher elevations of the either the eastern Green Mountains or the western Taconic Mountains, and travels from south to northwest through the Western New England Marble Valleys and into the Champlain Lowlands (USEPA, 2013). After Wallingford, the Otter Creek flows through the Marble Valleys of Rutland, Proctor, Pittsford, and Brandon.
Figure 3: Photo of Rutland, Vermont (image credit: https://www.mtgreen.com/killington-vermont-area-photo-gallery/)
Figure 4: Historic image of Rutland Falls via 1800s (image credit: the Vermont Collection at Middlebury College.)
In the mid-1800s, Sutherland Falls was at the center of the global marble industry.
Figure 5: Photo of Sutherland Falls (image credit: James Snook)
The discovery of a rich marble valley resulted in unique cultural characteristics, that characterized the length of the Otter Creek. Evidence of the historic mining of marble and its effect on historic architecture is visible in each community as one progresses downstream along Otter Creek, where marble was transferred for architectural purposes including churches, colleges, bridges, sidewalks, museums, and municipal buildings.
Figure 6: Marble quarries in Brandon and Proctor.
Covered Bridges in the Lowlands:
Settlements were formed downstream along the Otter Creek and at least five historic covered bridges were built to cross Otter Creek, including the 1849 Godham covered bridge (Vermont Official State Website, n.d.). Covered bridges are distinctive of this bioregion as they occur in valleys and also lowlands and not encountered in immediately adjacent ecoregions in the same abundance, as they express human structures associated with this bioregion’s unique history and drainage pattern.
Figure 7: Photos of Pittsford’s Godham (1841), Cooley (1849), and Hammond (1843) covered bridges.
Figure 7: Photos of Pittsford’s Godham (1841), Cooley (1849), and Hammond (1843) covered bridges. (multiple images).
Aerial Experience of Middlebury Falls and Vergennes Falls:
The Otter Creek flows northwest to Middlebury and Vergennes waterfalls in the lowlands.
Figure 8: YouTube video Aerial drone video of Middlebury Falls on April 18, 2020. YouTube Video weblink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2k9f4laRf4
Figure 9: YouTube video Aerial drone video of Vergennes Falls on April 11, 2020. YouTube Video weblink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNnZ5oc7D60
Up-stream Boat Cruising Experience:
The northwestern border along Otter Creek is defined by a drainage of tributaries, Kingsland Bay, and Lake Champlain, where the hydrologic cycle ends and begins again. This video takes you on a boat ride upstream from Lake Champlain to the Vergennes waterfalls.
Figure 10: Up-stream time-lapse video from Lake Champlain to Vergennes on Sept. 4, 2018.
YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmqMshZzQvw
References:
USEPA (2013). Level III and IV Ecoregions of the Continental United States. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/level-iii-and-iv-ecoregions-continental-united-states
Vermont Official State Website. (n.d.). European Vermont History in Lake Champlain Valley. Retrieved 10/29/2018, from https://historicsites.vermont.gov/vt_history/European