Tohickon Creek is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed April 1, 2011 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
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
. Located entirely in
Bucks County
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
, in southeastern
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 ...
, it rises in
Springfield Township and has its confluence with the Delaware at
Point Pleasant. It is dammed to form
Lake Nockamixon.
History
Prior to
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an settlement, the area through which the creek runs was inhabited by the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada.
The Lenape's historica ...
tribe. The area was called
''Tachan Hoking'' (pronounced Toc-ahn Hok Ing) or "Piece of Wood Area Place." It could also mean ''Achtuhhu Ing'' (pronounced "Awk-too-who Ing") or "Deers Place." Early white settlers in the area noted the fast, constant current of the creek, and by the late eighteenth century a number of water-powered mills had sprung up along the lower portion of the Tohickon valley.
[MacReynolds, George, ''Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania'', Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P377.] Notable among these was the grist mill of Ralph Stover, in
Plumstead Township. During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
of the 1930s, long after the mill had been shut down, the Stover heirs gave the area around the mill to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. After the Federal
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
converted the area for recreational use, a
Ralph Stover State Park was opened to the public in 1935.
The creation of
Ralph Stover State Park was the beginning of the Tohickon Creek's shift from an industrial area to a recreational area. The next move in this direction came in 1958, when the
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...
dammed the creek just south of
Quakertown, forming Tohickon Lake, another state park. It was later renamed
Lake Nockamixon, another Lenape name meaning "place of soft soil."
More and more land along the creek was eventually turned into parkland. The next addition to the park was the High Rocks unit of Ralph Stover State Park, donated to the Commonwealth by the noted author
James A. Michener
James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations, set in particular geographic locales ...
, a local resident. It features vertical rock cliffs above the creek. Today another park, Tohickon Valley County Park, borders High Rocks on three sides and their trail systems interlace. Together they protect the steep valley that Tohickon Creek cuts through the hills south of the old grist mill.
The
Boy Scouts of America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
also have a camp located along the creek,
Camp Ockanickon, and a few private campgrounds are located along its course.
Statistics
The Tohickon Creek is long, located entirely within Bucks County, is part of the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
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 ...
, and drains of . The GNIS I.D. Number is 1189623, the U.S. Department of the Interior stream code is 03110. It meets its confluence at the Delaware's 157.0
river mile
A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its river mouth, mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometre, kilometers is the river kilometer. They are an ...
.
Course
Tohickon Creek is the longest waterway located entirely in Bucks County.
[ Its tortuous course begins in the far north of the county, then generally winds east to the Delaware River. For the purpose of this article, its course can be divided into three main segments: the western half, Lake Nockamixon, and the eastern half.
;Western course
Tohickon Creek begins its journey to the Delaware as a small, nondescript stream in Springfield Township on the slopes of The Lookout. From its source, it heads generally south, straight into Richland Township then Quakertown, the largest settlement along its entire course. It then takes a sharp turn east and for a while forms the boundary between Haycock and East Rockhill Townships. It takes one more turn south before heading into Lake Nockamixon.
Along this part of its route, the creek starts off small. Unlike the rest of its course, the ground is relatively flat and rock-free, giving it a slow current and somewhat muddy appearance. Because of the flatness of the area, Tohickon Creek's watershed along its western section is significantly larger than downstream. By the time the creek flows into Lake Nockamixon, it has already met about half of its tributaries.
As far as recreation goes, Camp Tohikanee and scenic Sheards Mill and Sheard's Mill Covered Bridge are located along this first part of the creek's route.
;Lake Nockamixon
Almost exactly halfway through its route, the creek forms and runs through Lake Nockamixon. This is the only section of the course of significant distance where it flows northeast. It is about from where the stream becomes the lake and the dam where it becomes Tohickon Creek again. Along this distance it forms the boundary between Haycock and Bedminster Townships.
As the stream widens into the vast Lake Nockamixon, the current becomes almost undetectable. However, the deep water is by no means stagnant, and tends to stay clean and blue. For the first time along its course, the creek also supports a wide variety of fish, including walleye, pickerel, carp, and various kinds of bass and catfish.
This entire part of the route is contained in Nockamixon State Park. As far as recreation goes, boating and fishing are allowed in the lake water, and visitors may stay at park managed campgrounds along the southern shore of the lake or a nearby youth hostel.
;Eastern course
Upon leaving Lake Nockamixon, Tohickon Creek becomes very different from the slow, tiny creek farther west. After leaving the lake it heads southeast, forming the boundary between Bedminster and Tinicum townships. It then begins heading in a generally eastern direction, though it constantly twists and curves for the rest of its route. Here it becomes the boundary between Tinicum and Plumstead townships, and flows through Ralph Stover State Park. At its very end it flows straight through the middle of the village of Point Pleasant and under the Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, then finally joins the Delaware River to be carried the rest of the way to the sea.
The ground along this part is very rocky and the creek quickly loses elevation, creating a clear, fast current. It is also along this part of its course that the creek dramatically cuts a valley into the steep hills along its sides. At the area popularly known as High Rocks, vertical walls of stone up to 200 ft (61 m) high rise above the northern edge of the creek. However, as the creek enters Point Pleasant, the ground evens out a bit and the creek becomes relatively more tranquil before entering the river.
Along this lower route of the creek, the rapids of the creek often produce ]whitewater
Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...
when high-water conditions exist. At the very end of the creek, the village of Point Pleasant has developed into somewhat of a tourist destination, and visitors can see a number of scenic old bridges that cross the creek before it runs into the Delaware.
Geology
*Atlantic Plain
The Atlantic Plain is one of eight distinct physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic divisions of the contiguous United States. Using the USGS physiographic classification system, the Atlantic Plain division comprises two provinc ...
** Piedmont Province
*** Gettysburg-Newark Lowland Section
The Tohickon risees in Springfield Township on a layer of diabase
Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro,
is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-gra ...
which intruded into the Gettysburg and Newark basin during the Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...
and Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
. The diabase is typically dark gray to black, dense, and fine grained, consisting of predominately labradorite
Labradorite (( Ca, Na)( Al, Si)4 O8) is a calcium-enriched feldspar mineral first identified in Labrador, Canada, which can display an iridescent effect ( schiller).
Labradorite is an intermediate to calcic member of the plagioclase series. It ...
and augite
Augite, also known as Augurite, is a common rock-forming pyroxene mineral with formula . The crystals are monoclinic and prismatic. Augite has two prominent cleavages, meeting at angles near 90 degrees.
Characteristics
Augite is a solid soluti ...
.
It then flows through the Brunswick Formation laid down earlier, consisting of 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 ...
, mudstone
Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from ''shale'' by its lack of fissility.Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' New York, New York, ...
, and siltstone
Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.
Although its permeabil ...
. Mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...
includes argillite and hornfels
Hornfels is the group name for a set of Metamorphism#Contact .28thermal.29, contact metamorphic rocks that have been baked and hardened by the heat of Intrusive rock, intrusive igneous masses and have been rendered massive, hard, splintery, and in ...
.
After passing through another extension of diabase, it continues its journey through alternating bands of the Brunswick Formation and the Lockatong Formation
The Triassic Lockatong Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. It is named after the Lockatong Creek in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.
Description
The Lockatong is defined as a light to dark gray, greenish-g ...
until it reaches the Delaware. The Lockatong was laid down during the Triassic, consisting of dark argillite, shale, and some impure limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
and calcareous
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcare ...
shale.[
]
Recreational opportunities
Since the 1930s, Tohickon Creek has established itself as one of the best recreational waterways in southeastern Pennsylvania. Along its course, it flows through three state parks: Nockamixon, Ralph Stover, and Delaware Canal
The Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, more commonly called the Delaware Canal, runs for parallel to the right bank of the Delaware River from the entry locks near the mouth of the Lehigh River and terminal end of the Lehigh Canal at ...
. The eastern two thirds of its course are the most heavily used, and it presents many varied opportunities for any visitor.
Lake Nockamixon is the most visited spot along the creek's course. Boating is the most popular activity, and its main marina holds dozens of sail boats, and rents out smaller boats to visitors, too. Fishing is also a popular activity, and a fishing pier has been set up of the shore of the lake. Visitors can also hike or bike ride around the area, hunt in certain areas, and even camp if planning to stay for more than one day. On the third weekend in March and the first weekend in November, when water levels are sufficient, 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 ...
schedules water releases from the dam at Lake Nockamixon. This turns Tohickon Creek into a whitewater course,Ralph Stover State Park to Point Pleasant (PA Route 32), Tohickon Creek Pennsylvania, US
American Whitewater (2004-11-09). Retrieved on 2011-06-13. and boaters can manage their ways the entire route from the lake to the Delaware River.
At the High Rocks unit of Ralph Stover State Park, visitors can rock climb up cliffs or look at the view from atop. A pathway, Ridge Trail, travels along the top of the wide valley from High Rocks and goes south into Tohickon Valley County Park towards Point Pleasant. At its very end, the creek passes beneath Delaware Canal State Park, where prior to the floods of 2004–2005 visitors could walk north all the way to Easton or south all the way to Bristol. The debris caught in the bridge in the adjacent picture is from this same flood that destroyed entire parts of the canal. Reconstruction of the park is currently underway.
Crossings and Bridges
See also
*List of rivers of the United States
The following list is a list of rivers of the United States.
Alphabetical listing
''Listings of the rivers in the United States by letter of the alphabet:''
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - ...
*List of rivers of Pennsylvania
This is a list of streams and rivers in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.
Delaware Bay
Chesapeake Bay
*''E ...
* List of Delaware River tributaries
References
External links
Delaware Canal State Park
Nockamixon State Park
Ralph Stover State Park
U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations
{{authority control
Tributaries of the Delaware River
Rivers of Pennsylvania
Rivers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States