A defining ridge slices Mecklenburg County from north to south before cutting southeast. This ridge divides the county into two main watersheds, with most of Mecklenburg County sitting within the Catawba Watershed, and about a third draining East into the Yadkin Pee-Dee Watershed (Newsom, 2015).
Map by Garrett Nelson via Keeping Watch
Modern downtown Charlotte was established on top of a ridge, which marks the divide between Little Sugar Creek and Irwin Creek. Catawba, Waxhaw, and Saponi Native Americans originally inhabited the region and formed trading routes along the dryer ridge crests (Vocci, 2006). Tryon Street, the city’s main street, follows this ridgeline. This is how the Charlotte custom of calling the downtown area “Uptown” began, as you gently move uphill while approaching the heart of Charlotte atop of the ridge.
Map by Garrett Nelson via Keeping Watch
Briar Creek and Little Sugar Creek collectively drain roughly 51 square miles, highlighted in orange below. While it has multiple birthplaces, Little Sugar Creek is believed to start 6 miles north of Uptown as Derita Branch in the historic farming community of Derita (Newsom, 2015). Little Sugar Creek tumbles through Mecklenburg County for 19 miles before converging with Sugar Creek south of the S.C. state line. From there, Sugar Creek flows into the Catawba River, which eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean.
Map by Cecilia Kammire
References:
Newsom, M. (2015, March 26). Little Sugar: The Creek the City Loved to Hate. Keeping Watch. https://keepingwatch.org/programming/creeks/little-sugar-creek
Vocci, R. B. (2006, January 1). Mecklenburg County. NCpedia. www.ncpedia.org/geography/mecklenburg
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