Nanticoke Creek
Nanticoke Creek | |
---|---|
Etymology | named after the Nanticoke tribe, who once had a village in the area |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | valley on Penobscot Mountain in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania |
• elevation | between 1,000 and 1,020 feet (300 and 310 m) |
Mouth | |
• location | Susquehanna River in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania |
• coordinates | 41°12′44″N 75°58′50″W / 41.2122°N 75.9805°W |
• elevation | 515 ft (157 m) |
Length | 4.4 mi (7.1 km) |
Discharge | |
• average | 0.019 to 40 cubic feet per second (0.00054 to 1.13267 m3/s) |
Basin features | |
Progression | Susquehanna River → Chesapeake Bay |
Tributaries | |
• left | Espy Run |
Nanticoke Creek is a
The watershed of Nanticoke Creek is mainly forested, but urban land and mining land are also present. The city of Nanticoke is partially in the watershed and many unincorporated communities are there as well. The creek is named after the
Nanticoke Creek is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. However, it is relatively lacking in aquatic life.
Course
Nanticoke Creek begins in a valley on
Nanticoke Creek joins the Susquehanna River 183.04 miles (294.57 km) upriver of its mouth.[2]
Tributaries
In addition to having several unnamed tributaries, Nanticoke Creek has one named tributary, which is known as Espy Run.[1] Espy Run joins Nanticoke Creek 0.42 miles (0.68 km) upstream of its mouth. Its watershed has an area of 3.14 square miles (8.1 km2).[2] An unofficially named tributary known as Leuders Creek is also in the watershed.[3]
Hydrology
Nanticoke Creek is considered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to be impaired, meaning that it fails to attain water quality standards.[4][5] The causes of impairment are metals and pH and the probable source is abandoned mine drainage.[6] The creek is also impacted by abandoned mine lands in its watershed.[4][7] However, a total maximum daily load is not planned.[4] The upper reaches of the creek do not experience any major pollution.[8]
Nanticoke Creek loses water to mines and also receives abandoned mine drainage discharges from them. The Truesdale Mine Discharge, which is also known as the Dundee Outfall, discharges into the creek. In low-flow conditions, its flow ranges from 0 to 38 cubic feet per second. A smaller
The discharge of Nanticoke Creek downstream of the Truesdale Mine Discharge ranges from 0.019 to 40 cubic feet per second, with a mean of 6.3 cubic feet per second. The discharge of the creek at its mouth was measured to be 3.8 cubic feet per second in June 1999 and 8.2 cubic feet per second in October 1999. Both values were significantly lower than those of the nearby Newport Creek.[4]
In June 1999, the
In June 1999, the concentration of
The concentration of dissolved
There is some evidence of
Geography, geology, and climate
The elevation near the mouth of Nanticoke Creek is 515 feet (157 m) above sea level.[12] The elevation of the creek's source is between 1,000 and 1,020 feet (300 and 310 m) above sea level.[1]
The watershed of Nanticoke Creek is mostly in the
The main
Near its mouth, the
Mountains such as
A borehole known as the Askam Borehole discharges directly into Nanticoke Creek.[11] It has a diameter of 36 inches (91 cm) and was created in the early 1970s by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (then known as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources).[9][11] It was created to alleviate flooding from an underground mine pool.[11] The discharge of the borehole is typically around 3500 gallons per minute, but can rise to twice that during heavy rain.[8]
In June 1999, the water temperature of Nanticoke Creek was 20.0 °C (68.0 °F) downstream of the Truesdale Mine Discharge. In October of that year, the creek's water temperature was 14.0 °C (57.2 °F) at the mine discharge and 15.0 °C (59.0 °F) at its mouth.[4]
Watershed
The watershed of Nanticoke Creek has an area of 7.57 square miles (19.6 km2).[2] The creek is entirely within the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Wilkes-Barre West.[12] The watershed is in the central part of Luzerne County.[4]
Most of the watershed of Nanticoke Creek (67.3 percent) consists of forested land. Significantly less common are urban land and mining land, which make up 12.2 and 10.3 percent of the watershed's area. A total of 8.6 percent is grassland and 1.6 percent is wetlands.[7]
Much of the watershed of Nanticoke Creek, save for its upper reaches, have been heavily mined, both via
Municipalities in the watershed of Nanticoke Creek include Loomis Park, Lower Askam, Hanover, Espy Gap, Truesdale Terrace, Witinski Villa, and Warrior Gap.[4] The city of Wilkes-Barre is not far from the creek.[17] A reservoir known as the Hanover Reservoir is located in the southwestern part of the watershed.[4] There are also a number of silt ponds in the vicinity of the creek.[9] The creek's mouth is half a mile to the east of Nanticoke Falls.[13]
History and etymology
Nanticoke Creek was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1182159.[12]
Nanticoke Creek, like the nearby Nanticoke city and Nanticoke Falls, is named for a group of
A forge was constructed on Nanticoke Creek in 1778 by Mason F. Alden and John Alden. A log gristmill was also built in the area in the same year by a Mr. Chapman. The mill was heavily guarded in 1780. In 1793, there was a sawmill and gristmill on the creek.[18]
Mining has historically been done in the watershed of Nanticoke Creek. This has substantially altered the hydrology and topography of the watershed.[4] The period during which the watershed was mined lasted more than 100 years.[17] A flume made of concrete has been constructed in the watershed of the creek.[9]
A concrete
In the mid-1970s, studies indicated that active treatment would be the most suitable remedy for abandoned mine drainage in the watershed of Nanticoke Creek, with
The United States Army Corps of Engineers published a report on Nanticoke Creek in 2005.[21]
Biology
The drainage basin of Nanticoke Creek is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.
An artificial wetland known as the Espy Run Wetland is in the watershed of Nanticoke Creek.[21] If all of the 527 acres (213 ha) of mining land in the watershed were converted to forested land, the trees could sequester 179 short tons (160 long tons; 179 short tons) of carbon per year and 22,767 short tons (20,328 long tons; 22,767 short tons) of carbon could be stored by the time the trees become mature.[7]
See also
- Newport Creek, next tributary of the Susquehanna River going downriver
- Warrior Creek, next tributary of the Susquehanna River going upriver
- List of rivers of Pennsylvania
References
- ^ a b c d United States Geological Survey, The National Map Viewer, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b c Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams (PDF), November 2, 2001, pp. 62, 104, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Restoration, Nanticoke Creek, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Jeffrey J. Chaplin; Charles A. Cravotta III; Jeffrey B. Weitzel & Kenneth M. Klemow (2000), Effects of Historical Coal Mining and Drainage from Abandoned Mines on Streamflow and Water Quality in Newport and Nanticoke Creeks, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, 1999–2000 (PDF), pp. 9–12, 15, 23, 33, 44, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency, Implementing Clean Water Act Section 303(d): Impaired Waters and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), retrieved February 2, 2016
- ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2006 Waterbody Report for Nanticoke Creek, retrieved February 5, 2016
- ^ a b c d e Dale A. Bruns, Geospatial Tools to Support Watershed Environmental Monitoring and Reclamation: Assessing Mining Impacts on the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna American Heritage River (PDF), pp. 15, 17, 21, archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ Citizen's Voice, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b c d II. Existing conditions (PDF), 1975, pp. 7, 13, 16, 24, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b "PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 04-211d", Pennsylvania Bulletin, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b c d Earth Conservancy, Askam Borehole AMD Treatment System, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b c Geographic Names Information System, Feature Detail Report for: Nanticoke Creek, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b c Oscar Jewell Harvey; Ernest Gray Smith (1909), A History of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania: From Its First Beginnings to the Present Time, Including Chapters of Newly-discovered Early Wyoming Valley History, Together with Many Biographical Sketches and Much Genealogical Material, Volume 1, pp. 50, 55–56
- ^ History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming Counties, Pa: With Illustrations ..., 1880, p. 183
- ^ a b III Analysis and interpretation of findings (PDF), 1975, pp. 9, 13, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ Duane D. Braun (2008), Surficial geology of the Wilkes-Barre West 7.5-minute quadrangle, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, p. 14, archived from the original on May 24, 2014, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b Terry Ackman; Robert Dilmore, Identifying and Sealing Water Loss Zones in the Anthracite Coal Region (PDF), retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b c Henry C. Bradsby, ed. (1893), History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania: With ..., Volume 1, pp. 468, 570, 606, 612
- ^ Luzerne County, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ Tara Sadak (April 1, 2008), Acid Mine Drainage Pollution in the West Branch Schuylkill and Upper Schuylkill River, Schuylkill County Pennsylvania: A Case Study and Recommendations for the Future, University of Pennsylvania, p. 56, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ a b Don Budeit, Role of accelerated oxidation for removal of metals from mine drainage (PDF), pp. 5, 10, retrieved March 11, 2015
- ^ "§ 93.9k. Drainage List K. Susquehanna River Basin in Pennsylvania Susquehanna River", Pennsylvania Code, retrieved March 11, 2015