Deep Creek is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of Mahantango Creek in

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the populati ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Lykens Township and

Pillow A pillow is a support of the body at rest for comfort, therapy, or decoration. Pillows are used in different variations by many species, including humans. Some types of pillows include throw pillows, body pillows, decorative pillows, and man ...

. The watershed of the creek has an area of . It is not designated as an impaired waterbody, but is nevertheless observed to have high

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . salt (chemistry), Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are solubility, soluble in wa ...

concentrations. Major land uses in the creek's watershed include agricultural land and forested land. The creek's watershed is classified as a Warmwater Fishery.

Course

Deep Creek begins in a pond in Lykens Township. It flows north for several tenths of a mile, passing through three more ponds, before turning west-northwest. After several tenths of a mile, the creek turns west-southwest for several tenths of a mile before receiving an unnamed tributary from the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

and heading in a westerly direction for several tenths of a mile. In this reach, it receives one unnamed tributary from the right and one from the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

. It then meanders west-northwest for several tenths of a mile before turning west-southwest for more than a mile. In this reach, the creek receives one unnamed tributary from the right and one from the left. It eventually makes several

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...

s in a northwesterly direction, receiving three unnamed tributaries from the left and one from the right. The creek then flows north-northwest through a

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a pract ...

in Mahantango Mountain for a few tenths of a mile, entering Pillow. Here, an unnamed

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurc ...

of the creek splits off from the left bank to the north and the creek itself turns north-northeast. A few tenths of a mile further downstream, it reaches its confluence with Mahantango Creek. Deep Creek joins Mahantango Creek upstream of its mouth.

Hydrology

Deep Creek is not designated as an impaired waterbody as of 2004. However, the Dauphin County conservation District has observed that

concentrations in the creek are among the highest in Dauphin County. It is also likely that

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

loads are relatively high.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

of Deep Creek is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The elevation near the creek's

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

is above sea level. Deep Creek cuts through Mahantango Mountain on its course. This makes the creek's watershed one of the few areas where the watershed of Mahantango Creek extend south of Mahantango Mountain.

Watershed and biology

The

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

of Deep Creek has an area of . The mouth of the creek is in the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

quadrangle of Pillow. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Lykens. The creek also passes through the quadrangle of Klingerstown. Its mouth is located at

. The main

land use Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: fo ...

in the upper reaches of the watershed of Deep Creek is agricultural land. However, there are blocks of various other land uses in this area as well. In the lower reaches, forested land dominates, except for an area in the vicinity of the creek's mouth. Deep Creek is one of the main tributaries of Mahantango Creek in Dauphin County, along with Pine Creek.

History

Deep Creek was entered into the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...

on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1173058. A

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

and a

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

historically existed on Deep Creek. A concrete frame bridge carrying State Route 1009/N. Cross Road over Deep Creek was constructed south of Pillow in 1985 and is long. In 2013, it was proposed that the $610,432 Growing Greener County Environmental Initiative Program be redesignated to several projects, including the protection and repair of

stream bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

s along the creek. In 2015, a permit was issued to discharge

stormwater Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed lan ...

into Deep Creek during construction operations.

Biology

The drainage basin of Deep Creek is classified as a Warmwater Fishery.

Macroinvertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum V ...

samples from the creek encountered eleven types per sample, but only four that were pollution-sensitive. Deep Creek generally lacks adequate

riparian buffer A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area (a " buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality ...

s, although the

main stem In hydrology, a main stem or mainstem (also known as a trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". The mainstem extends all the way from one specific headwater to the outlet of the river, although t ...

of Mahantango Creek has greater buffering. In 2008, a site on the creek near Luxembourg Road was classified as being in "poor" health.

Hilsenhoff Biotic Index The Hilsenhoff Biotic Index (HBI) is a quantitative method of evaluating the abundance of arthropod fauna in stream ecosystems as a measurement of estimating water quality based on the predetermined pollution tolerances of the observed taxa. This bi ...

values indicated that organic pollution in the watershed was likely.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Mahantango Creek Rivers of Pennsylvania