South Branch Roaring 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 Roaring Creek in Columbia County and Northumberland County,

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 ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long. The upper reaches of the creek are located in Weiser State Forest, between Big Mountain and Little Mountain. The creek is home to some trout and is considered a high-quality coldwater fishery. The Chemung Formation occurs in the creek's watershed. The watershed is 25 square miles in area.

Course

South Branch Roaring Creek starts at the eastern edge of Conyngham Township in Columbia County between Big Mountain and Little Mountain. The creek starts flowing in a westward direction. It passes under

Pennsylvania Route 42 Pennsylvania Route 42 (PA 42) is a state route that is located in central Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is situated at Pennsylvania Route 61, PA 61 in Centralia, Pennsylvania, Centralia. The northern terminus is located at U. ...

and goes through a lake. After exiting the lake, it reaches another lake and exits Columbia County. Upon exiting Columbia County, South Branch Roaring Creek flows along the border between Mount Carmel Township in Northumberland County, and Columbia County. It continues heading west before passing briefly into Coal Township and turning north. While heading north, South Branch Roaring Creek flows between Cleveland Township, Columbia County to the east and Northumberland County to the west. As the creek passes through

Knoebels Amusement Resort Knoebels Amusement Resort () is a family-owned and operated amusement park, picnic grove, and campground in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1926, it is the United States's largest free-admission park. The park has more than 60 rides including thre ...

, it picks up its tributary Mugser Run. It then enters Franklin Township and passes under

Pennsylvania Route 487 Pennsylvania Route 487 (PA 487) is a , north–south state highway running from Pennsylvania Route 61, PA 61 in Shamokin Township, Pennsylvania, Shamokin Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Northumberland County, to Pennsylvania R ...

. Shortly afterwards, the creek flows into Roaring Creek.

Hydrology

The waters of South Branch Roaring Creek are used as a water supply. There are four

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

s on the creek. The reservoirs are, going downstream, the Brush Valley Reservoir, the Bear Gap #6 Reservoir, the Bear Gap #2 Reservoir, and the Bear Gap #1 Reservoir. The creek 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, aqua ...

med in four locations for the purpose of providing water to people in Shamokin and

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...

. The pH of South Branch Roaring Creek ranges from 5.5 to 7. This is due to the geology near the creek's headwaters,

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists b ...

, and

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

s in the watershed. In October and November 2007, volunteers from the Roaring Creek Valley Conservation Association performed a visual assessment of the quality of South Branch Roaring Creek, ranking seven attributes on a scale of 0 to 4, with 4 being highest-quality, thus meaning that 28 would be a perfect score. One location on the creek had a score of 24 out of 28, making it the second highest-scoring site in the watershed, behind one site on Roaring Creek. The other sites on South Branch Roaring Creek had scores of 21.5 and 16.5, and a tributary of the creek had a score of 21. In the summer of 2006, the water temperature in South Branch Roaring Creek ranged from to . The pH ranged from 5.38 to 6.41. The conductance ranged from 35 to 146 micro-siemens, with an average of 82 micro-siemens. The concentration of

alkalinity Alkalinity (from ) is the capacity of water to resist Freshwater acidification, acidification. It should not be confused with base (chemistry), basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strength of a buffer s ...

ranged from 7 to 19 milligrams per liter, with an average of 11.8 milligrams per liter. In the summer of 2006, the discharge of South Branch Roaring Creek was 32.9 liters per second and 33.3 liters per second in two sites, and 142.3 liters per second in a third site. The

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

concentration in South Branch Roaring Creek as of 2006 ranged from 209 to 1155.5 micrograms per liter, with an average of 546.6 micrograms per liter. The

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

concentration in South Branch Roaring Creek as of 2006 ranged from 12.6 micrograms per liter to 26.4 micrograms per liter, with an average of 17.6 micrograms per liter.

Geography

The first of South Branch Roaring Creek are situated in the Roaring Creek tract of

Weiser State Forest Weiser State Forest is a List of Pennsylvania state forests, Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #18. The main offices are located in Cressona, Pennsylvania, Cressona in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuyl ...

, with Big Mountain to the north and Little Mountain to the south. The Chemung formation rock beds are exposed near South Branch Roaring Creek. The creek cuts through Little Mountain at one point. The Selinsgrove

axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

crosses the creek as well. The valley where the upper part of the creek is located, between Big Mountain and Little Mountain, is composed of red

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

Watershed

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 South Branch Roaring Creek is roughly L-shaped. The northwestern edge of the watershed is several miles north of

Elysburg Elysburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ralpho Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is forty-two miles north-northeast of Harrisburg. The population was 2,194 at the 2010 census. The area's biggest attraction ...

and the southeastern edge is several miles east of Aristes. Springs with

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

bottoms are located near the headwaters. Part of

is in the watershed. The South Branch Roaring Creek watershed is 25 square miles in area. Adjacent watersheds include the Mugser Run watershed, the Lick Run watershed, and the main watershed of Roaring Creek.

Biology

Both

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

and

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

live in South Branch Roaring Creek. Both of these fish can grow up to long. The total concentration of trout ranges from per

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

to per hectare and per hectare. The species of fish observed in the creek as of 2004 are mostly typical for a stream environment in that area. These included

eastern blacknose dace Eastern blacknose dace (''Rhinichthys atratulus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus '' Rhinichthys''. Its name originates from the Old French word "dars" which is the nominative form of the word "dart" in reference to their swimming pa ...

, margined madtoms, and various warm-water fish which had swum into the creek from the reservoirs on it.

Catch and release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture the fish is Fish hook, unhooked and returned live to the water. Originally adopted in the United Kingdom by Coarse fishing, coarse fishermen to Overfishing, preser ...

public

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

is permitted on the creek. It is an approved trout stream. Several species of concern live near the creek's headwaters. The headwaters are also home to a Hemlock Palustrine Forest Natural Community. The northern long-eared bat has been observed on the creek. The forests in the upper reaches of South Branch Roaring Creek help connect forests in the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos (), are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the nort ...

to those on the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

. In the summer of 2006, the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

coverage on the creek was 40% at two sites and 93% at a third site. The upper reaches of South Branch Roaring Creek have been described as "the best natural habitat in the olumbiacounty". South Branch Roaring Creek is considered a high-quality cold-water

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish far ...

and a Class A wild

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

stream. The microinvertebrates that live at one site in South Branch Roaring Creek include 19 taxa, such as

Hydropsychidae The Hydropsychidae are a Family (biology), family-level taxon consisting of net-spinning Trichoptera, caddisflies. Hydropsychids are common among much of the world's streams, and a few species occupy the shorelines of freshwater lakes. Larvae o ...

and

Philopotamidae Philopotamidae is a family of insects in the order Trichoptera, the caddisflies. They are known commonly as the finger-net caddisflies.Oligochaeta Oligochaeta () is a subclass of soft-bodied animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, oligochaetes comprise the terrestrial megadril ...

). In another site, a total of 21 taxa of microinvertebrates have been observed. Hydropsychidae and Philopotamidae are the most abundant. Two species are considered abundant, two are considered common, ten are considered present, and seven are considered rare. The Hilsenhoff Pollution Tolerance Score of these microinvertebrates range from 0 in two cases to 9 in

Turbellaria The Turbellaria are one of the traditional sub-divisions of the phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms), and include all the sub-groups that are not exclusively parasitic. There are about 4,500 species, which range from to large freshwater forms mo ...

and 10 in Oligochaeta. The total

algal Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular microalgae, s ...

biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...

(as measured in micrograms of

chlorophyll Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words (, "pale green") and (, "leaf"). Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy ...

per square centimeter) in the creek as of 2006 ranged from 0.9 to 3.81, with an average of 2.07.

History

In 2003, the

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), established in 1995, is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 124 state parks and 20 state forests; providin ...

purchased 9000 acres of land along South Branch Roaring Creek.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Columbia County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Pennsylvania