Roaring Brook (also known as Roaring Brook Creek) is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or 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 drain the surrounding drainage ...

of Hunlock Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Ross Township and Hunlock Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . It has one named tributary, which is known as Lewis Run. Additionally, a dammed pond known as Harris Pond is located at the stream's headwaters. The Roaring Brook Swamp, which is listed as a Locally Significant Area on the Luzerne County Natural Areas Inventory, is also located in the watershed. Roaring Brook is designated as a Least Disturbed Stream. It is in the ridge and valley physiographic province. The surficial geology in the stream's vicinity consists of Wisconsinan Till, bedrock, Wisconsinan Ice Contact-Stratified Drift, alluvium, and sand and gravel pits.

Course

Roaring Brook looking downstream at its headwaters

Roaring Brook begins in Harris Pond in Ross Township. It flows for a few miles in a shallow valley before exiting Ross Township. Upon leaving Ross Township, the stream enters Hunlock Township. It gradually turns southeast, passing by several

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

s or small

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s before turning south-southeast flowing through the community of Roaring Brook. A short distance downstream of Roaring Brook, the stream receives its only named tributary, Lewis Run, from the

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

. The stream then turns southwest for a short distance and enters a much deeper and narrower valley. It this valley, it turns south-southeast for more than a mile before it reaches its confluence with Hunlock Creek. Roaring Brook joins Hunlock Creek upstream of its mouth.

Hydrology, geography, and geology

The elevation near the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

of Roaring Brook is above

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

. The elevation of the stream's source is between above sea level. The

surficial geology Superficial deposits (or surficial deposits) refer to geological deposits typically of Quaternary age (less than 2.6 million years old). These geologically recent unconsolidated sediments may include stream channel and floodplain deposits, beach ...

in the vicinity of Roaring Brook mainly features a glacial or resedimented till known as Wisconsinan Till. However, there are areas of

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

consisting of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

around the edges of the stream's valley. There is a large patch of Wisconsinan Ice-Contact Stratified Drift in the stream's lower reaches and a much smaller patch of

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

near its headwaters. There is also a sand and gravel pit along the creek. This pit is the only such pit in the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

quadrangle of Sweet Valley. Roaring Brook is in the Susquehanna Valley Section of the

ridge and valley The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending ...

physiographic province. A strip mine is located along Roaring Brook in its lower reaches. There are no instances of point source pollution in the watershed of Roaring Brook.

Watershed

The

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of Roaring Brook has an area of . The stream's mouth is in the

quadrangle of Nanticoke. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Sweet Valley. The stream also passes through the quadrangle of Harveys Lake. Roaring Brook is classified as a Least Disturbed Stream by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. Such streams are described as "high-quality stream segments" that "ideally have little disturbance from human influences and demonstrate natural ecological function". At most 0.75 percent of the watershed of Roaring Brook is on developed land. No more than 28 percent of the watershed is on cropland, of which no more than 6 percent is

row crop A row crop is a crop that can be planted in rows wide enough to allow it to be tilled or otherwise cultivated by agricultural machinery, machinery tailored for the seasonal activities of row crops. Such crops are sown by drilling or transplanti ...

s and no more than 22 percent is non-row crops. At least 70 percent of the watershed is

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

ed. No more than 1 percent of the riparian area of Roaring Brook is developed. No more than 20 percent is agricultural land and at least 75 percent is forested. There are fewer than ten road crossings in the watershed. The headwaters of Roaring Brook are in a 30-acre lake known as Harris Pond. It is

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

med by the Harris Pond Dam, which is made from earth,

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

, and

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

. It is approximately high and long (including the spillway). As of 1981, the dam is in relatively good condition.

History

Roaring Brook was entered into the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1185165.

Biology

Wild

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

naturally reproduce in Roaring Brook from its headwaters downstream to its mouth. A

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

known as Roaring Brook Swamp is situated along the eastern side of Roaring Brook in its upper reaches in Ross Township. The swamp is listed as a Locally Significant Area on the Luzerne County Natural Areas Inventory. It is classified as a third-growth mixed broadleaf and

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

swamp. The swamp contains

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

y areas as well as old

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

dams. The main tree species in the

overstory In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. In forest ecology, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns an ...

of Roaring Brook Swamp include hemlock, white pine, yellow birch, red maple, and

black ash Black ash is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * '' Acer negundo'', native to North America * ''Fraxinus nigra'', native to North America * ''Eucalyptus sieberi ''Eucalyptus sieberi'', commonly known as the silvertop ash or bl ...

. The plants in the swamp's understory include arrow-wood,

silky dogwood Silky dogwood is a common name for two species of shrubs, formerly treated as a single species: * ''Cornus amomum'', a more southerly species found in the eastern U.S. * ''Cornus obliqua ''Cornus obliqua'', the blue-fruited dogwood, silky dogwoo ...

, and winterberry. On the ground, the planets include

sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

wood fern :''The moth genus ''Dryopteris'' is now considered a junior synonym of ''Oreta. ''Dryopteris'' , commonly called the wood ferns, male ferns (referring in particular to ''Dryopteris filix-mas''), or buckler ferns, is a fern genus in the family Dry ...

cinnamon fern ''Osmundastrum'' is genus of leptosporangiate ferns in the family Osmundaceae with one living species, ''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'', the cinnamon fern. It is native to the Americas and eastern Asia, growing in swamps, bogs and moist woodlands. I ...

skunk cabbage Skunk cabbage is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * the genus ''Lysichiton'' ** Asian skunk cabbage, ''Lysichiton camtschatcensis'', grows in eastern Asia ** Western skunk cabbage, '' Lysichiton americanus'', grows in western Nor ...

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

bedstraw ''Galium'' is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some species are informally known as bedstraw. There are over 600 spe ...

, jewelweed, goldenrod, and horsetail.

Bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

species inhabiting the Roaring Brook Swamp include eastern peewee,

tufted titmouse The tufted titmouse (''Baeolophus bicolor'') is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family (Paridae). The black-crested titmouse, found from central and southern Texas southward, was included as a subspecies, ...

veery The veery (''Catharus fuscescens'') is a small North American Thrush (bird), thrush species, a member of a group of closely related and similar species in the genus ''Catharus'', also including the gray-cheeked thrush (''C. minimus''), Bicknell's ...

, ovenbird,

red-eyed vireo The red-eyed vireo (''Vireo olivaceus'') is a small American songbird. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers (Parulidae). Common across its vast range, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN. ...

, and

Louisiana waterthrush The Louisiana waterthrush (''Parkesia motacilla'') is a New World warbler, that breeds in eastern North America and winters in the West Indies and Central America. Plain brown above, it is white below, with black streaks and with buff flanks and u ...

. Wild

naturally reproduce in Roaring Brook from its headwaters downstream to its mouth.

References