Solomon Creek
Solomon Creek | |
---|---|
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Fairview Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania |
• coordinates | 41°10′46″N 75°51′59″W / 41.179478°N 75.866441°W |
• elevation | 1,840 ft (560 m) |
Mouth | |
• location | Susquehanna River at Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania |
• coordinates | 41°13′24″N 75°57′14″W / 41.2234°N 75.9539°W |
• elevation | 594 ft (181 m) |
Length | 8.5 mi (13.7 km) |
Basin size | 18.1 sq mi (47 km2) |
Discharge | |
• average | 3.39 cu ft/s (0.096 m3/s) |
Basin features | |
Progression | Susquehanna River, Spring Run |
Solomon Creek is a tributary of the
and has significant loads of iron, aluminum, and manganese. The creek's named tributaries are Spring Run, Sugar Notch Run, and Pine Creek. The Solomon Creek watershed is located in the Anthracite Valley section of the ridge-and-valley geographical province. Major rock formations in the watershed include the Mauch Chunk Formation, the Spechty Kopf Formation, and the Catskill Formation.Solomon Creek was first settled by Native Americans around 8000 to 6000 B.C.E. A settler arrived at the confluence of the creek with the Susquehanna River by 1774. In the 1800s, more people began arriving in the watershed to exploit its natural resources. Anthracite mining was especially prevalent in the watershed in the 19th and 20th centuries, to the point that numerous streams were altered or destroyed and the Laurel Run mine fire started.
Solomon Creek was devoid of fish in the 1970s. However, since then several fish species, including brook trout, have inhabited the creek and its tributaries. A number of varieties of aquatic insects are also present.
Course
Solomon Creek starts on western
Tributaries
Sugar Notch Run, Pine Creek and Spring Run are two tributaries of Solomon Creek.
Historically, Solomon Creek had at least seven tributaries, including one named Buttonwood Creek. However, several tributaries largely disappeared by the late 1890s due to mining in the watershed.[1]
Hydrology
Solomon Creek has an orange color as it flows past Wilkes-Barre, due to acid mine drainage.[5]
The tributaries Sugar Notch Run and Spring Run lose most of their discharge (75% in the case of Spring Run) when passing over subterranean mine pools.[5] The discharge of the creek is 3.39 cubic feet per second.[1] Between 1938 and 1989, the highest recorded discharge of the creek was 2450 cubic feet per second. This occurred on August 18, 1955. The discharge was not higher than 1610 cubic feet per second on any other year during that time period.[6]
The daily load of
At a large number of sites within the Solomon Creek watershed in 2011, the water temperature ranged from 34 °F (1 °C) at site SC12 to 70 °C (158 °F) at sites above, below, and on Sugar Notch Run. At these same sites, the
There are six locations in the Solomon Creek watershed where mine drainage is discharged. Ten miles (sixteen kilometers) of the streams on the creek's watershed are rendered devoid of life by mine drainage.[1]
According to Robert Hughes, the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation's executive director, the water level of Solomon Creek has risen since the middle of the 19th century. There are large amounts of
Geology
Solomon Creek is located at the edge of the
An unconformity lies between the Catskill Formation and the Spechty Kopf Formation. The sandstone in the latter formation are mostly cross-bedded, although some areas have planar bedding. The Llewellyn Formation, containing conglomerate and sandstone is found in the Spring Run and Sugar Notch Run sub-watersheds.[1]
The upper part of Solomon Creek is located in the Pocono Plateau.[1] The lowest elevation in the watershed is 560 feet (170 m) on the western side of the creek's floodplain. The highest elevation is 2,148 feet (655 m) on Haystack Mountain.[10] The elevation of the creek's mouth is 594 feet (181 m) above sea level.[11] The creek's source is just under 1,840 feet (560 m) above sea level.[2]
There are 14
In the Solomon Gap, there are piles
Soils
Soils in the Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 207, in the Solomon Creek watershed, include the Arnot Rock outcrop complex. On hills with a grade higher than 25%, the steep variety of this soil appears. It is a dark brown
Watershed
The area of Solomon Creek's watershed is 18.2 square miles.[1]
The watershed area is 60%
There are nine municipalities in the Solomon Creek watershed. Most of the watershed is in Ashley, Laurel Run,
In the
There are five designated sub-watersheds of the Solomon Creek watershed. They are the upper and lower Solomon Creek watershed, the Pine Creek watershed, the Spring Run watershed, and the Sugar Notch Run watershed. Neighboring watersheds include those of Little Wapwallopen Creek and Big Wapwallopen Creek.[1]
History
Native Americans settled in the Solomon Creek watershed by approximately 8000 B.C. to 6000 B.C.[1] Ebenezer Hibbard was an early European settler on the creek, living there by 1772.[12] The creek is named after a person with the surname of Solomon, who settled at the mouth of the creek in 1774. In the early 1800s, Europeans first realized the natural resources of the watershed.[1] In the early 1800s, there was a tavern called Inman's Tavern and several cabins in the Solomon Gap. In the mid-1800s, the population of the watershed increased significantly due to coal mining and timbering opportunities.[1] The first road in Fairview Township, the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Turnpike, started at Solomon Creek.[13]
There are
In 1809, Richard and Israel Inman constructed a gristmill at the foot of Solomon's Falls. It was converted to a house in 1833 and destroyed in 1850. A gristmill on the creek in Hanover Township had been built by 1812 and was run by George Mesinger. It was destroyed in 1840. In 1845, William Petty constructed the gristmill called Petty Mill in Hanover Township. This mill burned down in 1887.[15] The Wyoming Division Canal, which was constructed in the 1830s, started at Solomon Creek. Construction of the Ashley Planes in the Solomon Creek gap began in 1837. They were used until 1848.[1] An iron-producing forge operated on the creek in Ashley until 1839. There was also a sawmill on it until 1839. A powder mill operated on Solomon Creek, but was replaced with a brewery by 1885.[12] A slaughterhouse discharged its waste into the creek in the early 20th century.[9] The creek was used as the water supply for the Huber Breaker from the 1930s to the 1970s.[1] The Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway passed over Solomon Creek.[16]
Mining has been done in the Solomon Creek watershed in the past, causing considerable environmental damage. The mining began in the beginning of the 1800s and continued until the 1970s. However, there was one
A
The creek flooded in September 1850. It was the most severe flood of the creek up to that time.[20] In January 1996, 400 buildings along Solomon Creek flooded by it due to melting snow. This was one of numerous floods on that area of the creek.[21]
Alternate names
Solomon Creek has also been called Chester Creek and Solomon Creek by locals. It was called Moses Creek on maps of Pennsylvania created by William Scull in the 1770s. This last name may be named after an Indian, although it is not known for sure.[1]
Biology
In 1975, a study found no fish species on the creek. However,
The most common
Recreation
The
See also
- Warrior Creek, next tributary of the Susquehanna River going downriver
- Coal Creek (Susquehanna River), next tributary of the Susquehanna River going upriver
- List of rivers of Pennsylvania
Notes
- ^ The daily load of a metal is the amount of the metal that flows through a creek daily in dissolved form.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Solomon Creek Coldwater Conservation Plan (PDF), retrieved January 23, 2014
- ^ a b United States Geological Survey, The National Map, retrieved November 24, 2014
- ^ USGS (1953–1970), Luzerne County USGS Topographical Map, archived from the originalon October 31, 2013, retrieved January 20, 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g Jon M. Capacasa (October 1, 1998), Decision Rationale: Total Maximum Daily Loads Solomon Creek Watershed For Acid Mine Drainage Affected Segments Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (PDF), retrieved January 23, 2014
- ^ a b c d e Tom Venesky (June 15, 2013), Study provides hope for trout in Solomon Creek, Times Leader, retrieved January 20, 2014
- ^ United States Geological Survey, Peak Streamflow for the Nation USGS 01537500 Solomon Creek at Wilkes-Barre, PA, retrieved November 26, 2014
- ^ Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Comparison of Anthracite Coal Field Discharges (PDF), retrieved January 26, 2014
- ^ a b Coal ash raising Solomon Creek, Times Leader, January 19, 2013, archived from the original on February 21, 2014, retrieved January 26, 2014
- ^ a b Pennsylvania Superior Court (1909), Pennsylvania Superior Court Reports, Volume 37, pp. 255, 256
- ^ Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Solomon Creek, retrieved January 26, 2014
- ^ Topographic Map Stream Features in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, archived from the original on July 25, 2014, retrieved November 24, 2014
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b Henry Blackman Plumb (1885), History of Hanover Township: Including Sugar Notch, Ashley, and Nanticoke Boroughs: and Also a History of Wyoming Valley, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, pp. 343, 424
- ^ H. C. Bradsby, ed. (1893), History of Luzerne County Pennsylvania, retrieved January 26, 2014
- ^ Oscar Jewell Harvey, Ernest Gray Smith (1909), A History of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, p. 57
- ^ C.A. Miner (1900), The early grist-mills of Wyoming valley, Pennsylvania, pp. 21, 22
- ^ WB&H (PDF), Mountain Top Historical Society, p. 2, archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2014, retrieved February 2, 2014
- ^ ISBN 9780813741185, retrieved November 25, 2014
- ISBN 9780595092703, retrieved November 25, 2014
- ^ Abandoned Mine Research, Inc. (2005), Laurel Run Mine Fire, retrieved November 27, 2014
- ^ Henry C. Bradsby, ed. (1893), History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania: With Biographical Selections, Volume 1, p. 267
- ^ Borton-Lawson, Project Narrative (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2010, retrieved January 26, 2014