Bowman Hollow (also known as Bowman Hollow 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 Mehoopany Creek in

Wyoming County, Pennsylvania Wyoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,069. Its county seat is Tunkhannock. It was created in 1842 from part of Luzerne County. W ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Forkston Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream flows over a highly secluded waterfall known as the Bowman Hollow Falls.

Course

Bowman Hollow begins near the confluence of two unnamed tributaries in Forkston Township, Wyoming County. The stream flows northwest alongside a road and through a deep U-shaped valley for approximately two miles before reaching the end of the valley. It then enters the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of Mehoopany Creek and turns north for a short distance before reaching its confluence with Mehoopany Creek. Bowman Hollow joins Mehoopany Creek upstream of its mouth.

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 Bowman 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source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person,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 stream is located within a U-shaped hollow and is surrounded on three sides by cliffs. Bowman Hollow has a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

known as the Bowman Hollow Falls. The waterfall drops approximately into a large gorge and contains a number of cascades and flumes. It is an extremely obscure and secluded site and as such, is very rarely visited or photographed. The area has been described as being like a "secret garden". However, the waterfall is on private land.

Hydrology and 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 Bowman 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 Meshoppen. The mouth of the stream is at Forkston. The designated use of the stream is

aquatic life An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem formed by surrounding a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The two ...

. The community of Forkston, which is located near Bowman Hollow, is one of only two areas of residential development in the watershed of Mehoopany Creek. Bowman Hollow is not designated as an impaired waterbody. The stream is classified as a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery.

History

Bowman Hollow is not an officially named stream, but instead takes the name of the valley through which it flows. The valley 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 1170066. The stream has also been historically known as Bowman Hollow Creek. In 1922, G.L. Moore ''et al.'' received approval to construct a small dam across Bowman Hollow near the village of Forkston. In 1930, a steel bridge carrying a township road over the stream was built near Forkston. As of May 2015, it has an average daily traffic rate of 100 vehicles. In 2012, Chief Gathering, LLC. applied for and/or received a permit to construct a

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

pipeline that would impact several areas of Bowman Hollow and one or more of its unnamed tributaries with open cut trenching and timber mats, as well as a permanent access road.

References

{{Reflist Tributaries of Mehoopany Creek

Course

Geography and geology

Hydrology and watershed

History

See also

References