| Sandy Creek | |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Ohio |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Sandy Creek |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Ohio |
| Length: | 41.3miles[1] |
| Discharge1 Location: | Waynesburg[2] |
| Discharge1 Min: | 6.9cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 278cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Max: | 15000cuft/s |
| Source1 Location: | Hanover Township, Columbiana County |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 40.7719°N -80.9025°W[3] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 1299feet |
| Mouth: | Tuscarawas River |
| Mouth Location: | Bethlehem Township, Stark County |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 40.6578°N -81.4372°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 887feet |
| Basin Size: | 504sqmi |
| Tributaries Left: | Still Fork |
| Tributaries Right: | Nimishillen Creek |
Sandy Creek is a tributary of the Tuscarawas River, 41.3 miles (66.5 km) long, in northeastern Ohio. Via the Tuscarawas, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 503 square miles (1,303 km²).
Sandy Creek rises in Hanover Township, approximately two miles (3 km) northeast of Hanoverton in western Columbiana County and flows generally west-southwestwardly through northwestern Carroll County, southeastern Stark County and northeastern Tuscarawas County, past the communities of Kensington, Minerva, Malvern, Waynesburg and Magnolia. It joins the Tuscarawas River from the east in Bethlehem Township in Stark County, approximately one mile (2 km) northeast of Bolivar. At Minerva, it collects the Still Fork. At Waynesburg, it collects a short stream known as Little Sandy Creek.[4] In Sandyville, Tuscarawas County it collects Nimishillen Creek, which drains the city of Canton.[5]
A dry dam, Bolivar Dam, constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, spans the creek near its mouth.[6]
At the United States Geological Survey's stream gauge in Waynesburg,[7] the annual mean flow of the river between 1939 and 2005 was 278 ft³/s (8 m³/s). The highest recorded flow during the period was 15,000 ft³/s (425 m³/s) on January 22, 1959. The lowest recorded flow was 6.9 ft³/s (0 m³/s) on an unspecified date.[2]
According to the Geographic Names Information System, Sandy Creek has also been known historically as:[3]