Pine 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 the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the ex ...

Potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...

, Tioga, Lycoming, and Clinton counties in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The creek is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed August 8, 2011 Within Tioga County, of Pine Creek are designated as a Pennsylvania Scenic River. Pine Creek is the largest tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River and has the largest watershed of all the West Branch’s tributaries.

Name

Pine Creek is named for the many

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

trees that lined (and now again line) much of its banks. The

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

called Pine Creek ''Tiadaghton'', which according to Owlett, either meant "The River of Pines" or "The Lost or Bewildered River". Pine Creek is the largest "creek" in the United States.

Geography

Pine Creek's source is in Potter County, southeast of Ulysses. It flows southeast to Galeton, where it receives its first major tributary, the West Branch Pine Creek. It then flows east to Tioga County and the village of Ansonia. Here it receives its second major tributary, Marsh Creek, and turns south again for . This stretch is the start of the Pine Creek Gorge, which is about deep in places. left, upPine Creek At the village of Blackwell, Pine Creek receives its third major tributary, Babb Creek. It continues southwest and enters Lycoming County, where it turns southeast for to its mouth. At Waterville it receives its fourth major tributary, Little Pine Creek. Pine Creek continues south and forms part of the border between Lycoming and Clinton counties. Its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the West Branch Susquehanna River is at this border, between the boroughs of Avis (in Clinton County, to the west) and

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

(in Lycoming County, to the east). The elevation at the source of Pine Creek is , while the mouth is at an elevation of . The difference in elevation——divided by the length of the creek——gives an average drop or

relief ratio Stream gradient (or stream slope) is the grade (or slope) of a stream. It is measured by the ratio of drop in elevation and horizontal distance. It is a dimensionless quantity, usually expressed in units of meters per kilometer (m/km) or feet per ...

of 22.0 ft/mi (4.2 m/km ). The meander ratio is 1.08, so the creek is fairly straight in its bed.

Watershed

Pine Creek's watershed covers , the largest watershed of all tributaries of the West Branch Susquehanna River.

Recreation

Pine Creek and Pine Creek Gorge (also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania) are a popular outdoor recreation destination. The West Rim Trail is a hiking trail along the west rim of the Pine Creek Gorge. The Pine Creek Rail Trail runs beside the creek through the gorge from Ansonia to Jersey Shore. The railroad through the gorge opened in 1883 as the Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway, passing into the control of the Fall Brook Coal Company in 1884, and the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

via a lease in 1899, with full integration into the NYC in 1914.

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

took over the line in 1976, and the last train ran through the gorge on October 7, 1988.

History

The

Fair Play Men The Fair Play Men were illegal settlers (squatters) who established their own system of self-rule from 1773 to 1785 in the West Branch Susquehanna River valley of Pennsylvania in what is now the United States. Because they settled in territory clai ...

were illegal

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s (

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...

s) who established their own system of self-rule from 1773 to 1785 in the

valley of

in what is now the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Because they settled in territory claimed by Native Americans, they had no recourse to the Pennsylvania colonial government. Accordingly, they established what was known as the Fair Play System, with three elected commissioners who ruled on land claims and other issues for the group. In a remarkable coincidence, the Fair Play Men made their own

declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

on July 4, 1776, beneath the "Tiadaghton Elm" on the west bank of Pine Creek, very near the mouth.

Bridges

* The Bridge in Porter Township was built in 1889. * The Bridge in Brown Township was built in 1890. * The English Center Suspension Bridge was built in 1891.

References

External links

U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stationsPine Creek Gorge official website
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20141209101105/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/conservation/rivers/scenicrivers/pinecreek/index.htm Pennsylvania Scenic Rivers website {{authority control Rivers of Pennsylvania Tributaries of the West Branch Susquehanna River Scenic Rivers of Pennsylvania West Branch Susquehanna Valley Rivers of Potter County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Tioga County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Clinton County, Pennsylvania Allegheny Plateau Protected areas of Potter County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Tioga County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Clinton County, Pennsylvania