Buffalo Creek was a large brook that carved out the main valley in which Grantville was situated before the Ring of Fire. It ran directly through the downtown area of town. Prior to the Ring of Fire, it generally flowed from west to east, and eventually flowed into the Monongahela River. The Schwarza River in Thuringia was cut by the edge of the Ring of Fire at Schwarzburg, so that it fell downslope to replace a feeder stream of Buffalo Creek, allowing Buffalo Creek to continue to provide cooling water to Grantville's electrical power plant.