Beartrap Hollow (also known as Bear Trap Hollow) 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 ...

White Deer Hole Creek White Deer Hole Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Clinton, Lycoming and Union counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A part of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, the White Deer Hole Creek watershed drains part ...

Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat is Williamsport. Lycoming County comprises the Williamsport metropolitan statistical area. About northwest ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Washington Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream is not designated as an impaired waterbody. Much of the stream's length is on South White Deer Ridge and it is near

Tiadaghton State Forest Tiadaghton State Forest (; ) is a Pennsylvania State Forest (Forest District #12) in the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. The forest is primarily in western and southern Lycoming County, with small ...

Course

Beartrap Hollow begins on South White Deer Ridge in Washington Township. It flows north down the ridge for several tenths of a mile before turning north-northwest. After several tenths of a mile, the stream reaches the bottom of the ridge and receives an unnamed tributary 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 ...

. It then turns northeast for a short distance before reaching its confluence with White Deer Hole Creek. Beartrap Hollow joins White Deer Hole Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Beartrap Hollow has no named tributaries. However, it does have one unnamed tributary. This tributary is approximately long and starts lower on South White Deer Ridge than the

main stem In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...

. It joins Beartrap Hollow in its lower reaches.

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 Beartrap Hollow 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 near the stream'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 o ...

is above sea level. The headwaters of Beartrap Hollow are on a

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

known as South White Deer Ridge. The ridge is relatively steep in the stream's upper reaches, but becomes less steep towards the lower reaches of the stream. It flows down into the broad valley of White Deer Hole Creek. Beartrap Hollow is in 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 ...

Freestone region. Beartrap Hollow is not designated as an impaired waterbody.

Watershed and biology

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 Beartrap Hollow has an area of . The stream is entirely within 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 Williamsport SE. Its mouth is located near Elmsport. Beartrap Hollow is being considered by the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a separ ...

for 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 ...

designation.

History and recreation

The valley of Beartrap Hollow 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 1168978. The stream does not have a name of its own, but instead takes its name from the valley through which it flows. It is also known as Bear Trap Hollow. Beartrap Hollow was surveyed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on June 14, 2013. It was listed on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission website as being considered for wild trout designation on January 20, 2015. Beartrap Hollow is located near

References