Black 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 the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
in
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...
, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through
Conyngham Township.
The creek's watershed has an area of . It is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. The creek is
ephemeral
Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
and loses its flow to
underground mine
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
s. Varying concentrations of many
alkali metal
The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K),The symbols Na and K for sodium and potassium are derived from their Latin names, ''natrium'' and ''kalium''; these are still the origins of the names ...
s,
alkaline earth metal
The alkaline earth metals are six chemical elements in group 2 of the periodic table. They are beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), and radium (Ra).. The elements have very similar properties: they are al ...
s, and
transition metal
In chemistry, a transition metal (or transition element) is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 3 to 12), though the elements of group 12 (and less often group 3) are sometimes excluded. They are the elements that can ...
s occur in water in the creek's watershed. The watershed typically experiences relatively mild temperatures. It is mainly accessible via U.S. Route 11, Pennsylvania Route 239, and a
local road
The road hierarchy categorizes roads according to their functions and capacities. While sources differ on the exact nomenclature, the basic hierarchy comprises freeways, arterials, collectors, and local roads. Generally, the functional hierarchy ...
.
Black Creek is situated within the
Coal Region
The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite, anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons.
The region is typically define ...
of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Rock formations in the watershed include the Mauch Chunk Formation, the Pottsville Formation, and the Llwellyn Formation. Coal beds in the watershed include the Lower Red Ash bed, the Upper Red Ash bed, the Lower Ross bed, the Upper Ross bed, and the Baltimore Bed. Ridges of mine waste also occur in the creek's drainage basin. Mining was done in the watershed as early as the winter of 1836-1837, but it stopped in 1955. The creek and the surrounding areas were the subject of a joint study by several federal and state organizations in the 1960s.
Course
![Black Creek satellite map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Black_Creek_satellite_map.PNG)
Black Creek begins in a valley in Conyngham Township. It flows west-northwest for nearly a mile, passing through a large
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 ...
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 ...
, before turning north for several hundred feet. The creek then turns west for a short distance and enters a broader and much shallower valley before receiving an unnamed tributary from the
right
Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...
. It then turns southwest for more than a mile before turning south-southwest and flowing through a deep and narrow valley to the northern border of
Mocanaqua. The creek then turns west for a few tenths of a mile, following the border of Mocanaqua to its confluence with the Susquehanna River.
Black Creek joins the Susquehanna River upstream of its mouth.
Tributaries
Black Creek has no officially named tributaries.
However, an 1887 book stated that the creek had two tributaries. One was unnamed and flowed from a point west of the DuPont Drift to the creek at the Golden Drift. The other was referred to as Turkey Pond Creek and was sometimes nearly dry, but could have a substantial flow during spring rains.
Hydrology and climate
Black Creek is an
ephemeral stream
A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams are ...
. It used to drain an area between Turtle Creek and the Susquehanna River, but now loses its flow to underground mines via broken bedrock. Its
channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
is also disrupted by strip mines and rock piles.
[Newport, 52] The waters of Black Creek are acidic.
Anion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
s in the waters of the Black Creek drainage basin include
sulfate
The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...
and
bicarbonate
In inorganic chemistry, bicarbonate (IUPAC-recommended nomenclature: hydrogencarbonate) is an intermediate form in the deprotonation of carbonic acid. It is a polyatomic anion with the chemical formula .
Bicarbonate serves a crucial biochemic ...
. The concentrations of
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
in the mine pools in the area are typically very low or nonexistent. However, some mine waters in the watershed can have aluminum ion concentrations of over 70 milligrams per liter, forming 6 percent of
total dissolved solids
Total dissolved solids (TDS) is a measure of the dissolved combined content of all inorganic and organic substances present in a liquid in molecular, ionized, or micro-granular ( colloidal sol) suspended form. TDS concentrations are often repor ...
in the water, as measured by weight. The concentration of
manganese
Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
ions in the waters can be over 100 milligrams per liter and
calcium
Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...
also occurs in
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...
in the watershed.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
occurs in the non-polluted groundwater in the watershed in concentrations of 1 to 5 milligrams per liter and occurs in polluted groundwater at concentrations of 4 to 440 milligrams per liter.
Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...
and
potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...
occur in water in the Black Creek watershed, with sodium being considerably more common than potassium. Potassium concentrations are around 20 milligrams per liter, while sodium concentrations are less than 10 milligrams per liter.
Lithium
Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid el ...
and
rubidium
Rubidium is the chemical element with the symbol Rb and atomic number 37. It is a very soft, whitish-grey solid in the alkali metal group, similar to potassium and caesium. Rubidium is the first alkali metal in the group to have a density higher ...
also have been observed in the watershed, with concentrations of 0.02 to 0.2 and 0.04 milligrams per liter, respectively.
[Newport, 113]
Barium
Barium is a chemical element with the symbol Ba and atomic number 56. It is the fifth element in group 2 and is a soft, silvery alkaline earth metal. Because of its high chemical reactivity, barium is never found in nature as a free element.
Th ...
occurs in the water of the Black Creek watershed, typically at concentrations of less than 0.07 milligrams per liter.
Beryllium
Beryllium is a chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with other elements to form mi ...
is about as common, with a concentration of less than 0.06 milligrams per liter.
[Newport, 114] Strontium
Strontium is the chemical element with the symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is ex ...
is much more common, with a concentration of up to 4.4 milligrams per liter.
The concentration of
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
in the waters of the Black Creek watershed is less than 0.17 milligrams per liter and the concentration of
zirconium
Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name ''zirconium'' is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian '' zargun'' (zircon; ''zar-gun'', ...
is less than 0.055 milligrams per liter. Small amounts (less than 0.01 milligrams per liter) of
vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...
,
chromium
Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal.
Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...
, and
molybdenum
Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lea ...
also occur in the water.
The
cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...
concentration in mine waters in the watershed ranges from 0.07 to 0.93 milligrams per liter and the
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
concentration ranges from 0.09 to 1.2 milligrams per liter.
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
,
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
,
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
, and
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
also occur in the watershed.
The concentration of
chloride
The chloride ion is the anion (negatively charged ion) Cl−. It is formed when the element chlorine (a halogen) gains an electron or when a compound such as hydrogen chloride is dissolved in water or other polar solvents. Chloride salts ...
ions in the watershed of Black Creek ranges from 0 to 14 milligrams per liter.
A 1971 report described the climate in the watershed of Black Creek as "mild". Temperatures above are rare in the area, but temperatures below are common. At the
United States Weather Bureau
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the p ...
station in
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...
, the highest recorded temperature between 1945 and 1966 was and the lowest was . Killing frosts have been recorded as early as October and as late as May.
Geography
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 Black Creek 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 creek'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 between above sea level.
The lowest elevations in the watershed are approximately above sea level and they occur near the Susquehanna River. The highest part of the watershed is 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 ...
in the northern part of the watershed; this area has an elevation of above sea level. The highest level of
topographic relief
Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...
in the watershed is and local relief can be as high as , but is typically less than .
[Newport, 17]
The watershed of Black Creek is situated at the southwestern end of the
Coal Region
The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite, anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons.
The region is typically define ...
.
[Newport, 12] The watershed is also part of a "long, narrow, complexly deformed"
synclinorium
In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimpose ...
, with complex folds and faults. The watershed of the creek is within the filled-in valley of the preglacial Susquehanna River. The watershed contains three downwarped coal basins: the West Basin, the East Basin, and the Priscilla Lee Basin. A tunnel runs between the West Basin and the East Basin at an elevation of above sea level.
There are a number of pits in the area of Black Creek, some of which are up to deep. Some are former entrances to mines, while others are strip mining pits. There is standing water in the underground mine workings in the creek's vicinity. It drains a
coal sheet known as Mine Sheet No. 1. The creek once flowed over a ledge of
conglomerate of the
Pottsville Formation
The Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, and Alabama. It is a major ridge-former in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the eastern United States. The Pottsville Fo ...
upstream of its mouth. An 1887 book described this as "producing an effect especially interesting in the study of creek erosion".
Black Creek accumulates
drift
Drift or Drifts may refer to:
Geography
* Drift or ford (crossing) of a river
* Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States
* In Cornwall, England:
** Drift, Cornwall, village
** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village
...
to some degree as it flows along its course. However, due to the high speed of its waters, it does not deposit significant amounts of drift along its course.
Geology
The
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 ...
in the watershed of Black Creek consists of several
rock formation
A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sediment ...
s. The oldest is the
Mauch Chunk Formation
The Mississippian Mauch Chunk Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. It is named for the township of Mauch Chunk, now known as borough of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania and for nearby Mauch Chunk Ridge where th ...
of the
Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian eras. Younger rock formations in the watershed include the
Pottsville Formation
The Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, and Alabama. It is a major ridge-former in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the eastern United States. The Pottsville Fo ...
and the
Llwellyn Formation, both of which date to the Pennsylvanian era. There are
anthracite
Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...
beds in the watershed and these beds occur within the Llwellyn Formation.
The Mauch Chunk Formation was originally thick in the watershed.
Most of the surficial geology in the watershed of Black Creek consists of bedrock. However,
glaciofluvial deposits
Glaciofluvial deposits or Glacio-fluvial sediments consist of boulders, gravel, sand, silt and clay from ice sheets or glaciers.
They are transported, sorted and deposited by streams of water.
The deposits are formed beside, below or downstream ...
and mining waste also occur in some areas. To the west of the Lee Shaft, there are ridges of mine waste up to thick and there are a number of "finger-shaped" ridges with a thickness of in the West Basin.
[Newport, 43]
There are five beds of coal that have been mined in the watershed of Black Creek: the Lower Red Ash bed, the Upper Red Ash bed, the Lower Ross bed, the Upper Ross bed, and the Baltimore Bed. The Lower Red Ash coal bed has a thickness of up to at the West End Mine in the watershed and the Upper Red Ash coal is up to thick.
The bedrock is exposed on the ridges in the Black Creek watershed. The exposure is due to
glaciofluvial
In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluvio ...
deposits disappearing due to
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
and mining. There are many faults in the watershed's rocks.
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 Black Creek has an area of .
The mouth of the creek is 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 Shickshinny. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Nanticoke.
The
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
watershed is immediately north and west of the watershed of Black Creek, while the watershed of
Turtle Creek is located immediately south of the watershed. The eastern edge of the watershed (the part that was studied during the 1960s study of the watershed) includes a
barrier pillar between the West End Mine and the Glen Lyon Mine.
A body of water known as Stump Lake is in the creek's watershed.
As of the 1960s or early 1970s, the only human inhabitants of the watershed of Black Creek reside either in the village of Mocanaqua in the southwestern part of the watershed or the small community of Lee. The watershed can be accessed from
US Route 11
{{Infobox road
, country=USA
, type=US
, route=11
, map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map
, map_custom=yes
, map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...
,
Pennsylvania Route 239
Pennsylvania Route 239 (PA 239) is a state highway located in Luzerne, Columbia and Lycoming Counties in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 93 in Nescopeck Township. The northern terminus is at PA 42 in North ...
, and a local road that runs from Mocanaqua to
Glen Lyon
Glen Lyon ( gd, Gleann Lìomhann) is a glen in the Perth and Kinross region of Scotland. It is the longest enclosed glen in Scotland and runs for from Loch Lyon in the west to the village of Fortingall in the east.
This glen was also known a ...
.
Historically, there was 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 ...
at the headwaters of Black Creek.
As late as the 1910s, the waters of the creek were described as coming from mountain
springs and a swamp.
History
Black Creek 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 1169696.
Coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
was done in the watershed of Black Creek as early as the winter of 1836–1837.
Several people operated in the area until 1865, when it was leased to the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company for 99 years. However, the mining was stopped by a strike in 1872 and for some time thereafter mining was done by several smaller companies. The mine in the watershed was run by the
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...
between 1901 and 1921. The Glen Alden Corp. then operated it until 1938, at which point
underground mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
in the watershed stopped.
Strip mining
Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...
was already underway there and it continued until 1955, when all mining stopped.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, coal waste in the watershed was rerun through a coal processing plant to recover coal.
In 1971, the land was owned by the Blue Coal Company. A total of 22 million tons of coal have been mined in the area.
[Newport, 22]
In the early 1900s, mine water and
culm were discharged into Black Creek.
Between 1965 and 1967, the
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
, the
United States Bureau of Mines
For most of the 20th century, the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral r ...
, the
United States Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, 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, ...
, and the
Pennsylvania Department of Mines and Mineral Industries conducted a joint study on the watershed of Black Creek. The purpose of the study was to deal with
water pollution
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...
due to
acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines.
Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weathering ...
.
Geological field work was carried out in the area between October 1965 and December 1965. Core and rock cuttings were done between October 1966 and June 1967. However, this study was ended before all of the necessary scientific investigations were completed.
[Newport, 15]
Biology
The entire drainage basin of Black Creek is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.
See also
*
Turtle Creek (Susquehanna River), next tributary of the Susquehanna River going downriver
*
Paddy Run, next tributary of the Susquehanna River going upriver
*
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 ...
References
Works cited
*
{{authority control
Rivers of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Tributaries of the Susquehanna River
Rivers of Pennsylvania