bridge over Conococheague Creek from
Wilson's Bridge , U.S. 40 Conococheague Creek, above its confluence with its West Branch, is sometimes referred to as the East Branch Conococheague Creek. At , the "East Branch" is shorter than the West Branch. It rises in the
South Mountain range of south-central Pennsylvania, forming in northwestern
Adams County between East Big Flat Ridge and Piney Mountain. The creek flows southwest, turning west at
Caledonia State Park, and continues past
Fayetteville into the
Great Appalachian Valley, turning southwest at
Chambersburg and flowing west of
Greencastle. The creek from Fayetteville to its confluence with Back Creek near Williamson is very polluted from farm runoff. Over the past 30 years there has been a steady decline in the number of available native fish species, such as
yellow perch,
eel,
horned chub,
calico bass,
rock bass, and
white sucker, and overall water quality due to sediment collection on the bottom, thereby severely limiting the ability of these native species to spawn. This in turn has made parts of the lower East Branch ideal for catching huge
crayfish at night; however, the food value of this species, due to pollution, is dubious at best. == West Branch Conococheague Creek ==