Cattaraugus Creek is a stream, approximately long, in western New York in the United States. The creek drains a wooded rural portion of western New York southwest of Buffalo into Lake Erie. In its lower course it flows primarily through the Cattaraugus Reservation of the Seneca tribe. William Beauchamp identifies the name Cattaraugus as deriving from the Seneca word Gah-ta-ra-ke-ras, meaning "stinking shore" or "foul-smelling river bank." This in turn is likely a loanword from an extinct Attiwandiron, Erie, Wenro, or Wendat (Huron) language, combining the verb root -i'tar-, referring to clay or mud, and -akera(n)-, describing a bad or strong odor: hence, tke'tarakeras, place of strong-smelling mud or clay. (The Seneca language does not have a distinct R sound; the Seneca language equivalent, Canawaugus, was originally used for a site further east.) This name is a result of the natural gas that oozes from the river mud. Description The creek rises in Java Lake in Wyoming County. In the village of Arcade it is joined by Clear Creek. It flows westward out of Wyoming County to the hamlet of Yorkshire, where the creek becomes the boundary between Erie County to the north and Cattaraugus County to the south. Near Springville, the creek is impounded by the Scoby Dam. From Springville to Gowanda, Cattaraugus Creek passes through the Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area. This conservation zone is a favorite recreation area for fishing and rafting. The South Branch of Cattaraugus Creek, also known as Skinner Hollow, originates in East Otto and flows southwest into the village of Cattaraugus before veering northwest to Cattaraugus Creek along the Persia-Otto town line, joining the main creek just east of Gowanda, a village that straddles the main stem of the creek and is thereby in two counties. Along its lower course Cattaraugus Creek flows past the hamlet of Versailles, on the south bank of the creek in the Cattaraugus Reservation. For its final miles, the creek forms the border between Erie County and Chautauqua County, then flows into Lake Erie by Sunset Bay in the town of Hanover in Chautauqua County. Fishing Each year around October to November, thousands of anglers descend on the lower course of Cattaraugus Creek to take advantage of the annual steelhead trout runs. Currently, the extent of steelhead migration up Cattaraugus Creek is limited by the Scoby Dam near Springville. However, a proposal to lower the currently dam by