Paint Creek (Iowa)

Paint Creek is a direct tributary of the Mississippi River, rising in central Allamakee County, Iowa, in and about the city of Waukon. Its upper reaches reach to the intersection of where East Main Street, West Main Street, Allamakee Avenue, and Spring Road meet in downtown Waukon, at the only street-light in the county. It also has still-rural reaches past 9th Street Southwest.

The upper reaches only flow water after a rainstorm, but as one goes east to the Mississippi River, cutting down deeply into the gorge of the Mississipi, a serious ever-flowing stream is encountered, fed by springs. Even in the worst drought years, Paint Creek delivers a trickle of water.

Locally, it is also a place name, mainly of Lutheran Churches.