County Line Branch (also known as the County Line Branch of Chillisquaque Creek) is a tributary of West Branch Chillisquaque Creek in Northumberland County and

Montour County Montour County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,136. Its county seat is Danville. The county is named for Andrew Montour, a prominent Mét ...

, in

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, ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Lewis Township in Northumberland County and Anthony and Limestone Townships in Montour County. The stream's watershed has an area of 8.97 square miles. Its tributaries include Beaver Run and McKee Run. The main rock formations in the watershed of County Line Branch are the Hamilton Group, the Onondaga and Old Port Formation, the Trimmers Rock Formation, and the Keyser and Tonoloway Formation. The

soil series Soil series as established by the National Cooperative Soil Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service are a level of classification in the USDA Soil Taxonomy classification system hierar ...

in the watershed include the Chenango-Pope-Holly series, the Berks-Weikert-Beddington series, the Hagerstown-Edom-Washington series, and the Watson-Berks-Alvira series. Industries in the watershed include agriculture and timbering. The Mountour County Natural Heritage Inventory lists the headwaters of County Line Branch as a "locally significant" site.

Course

County Line Branch begins near the border between Anthony Township, Montour County and Lewis Township, Northumberland County, near the northern borders of both townships. The headwaters are in the

Muncy Hills Muncy may refer to: People * Baron Muncy (c.1300), English peerage title held by Walter de Muncy * Becky Muncy, American educator in Indiana * Jeff Muncy, American television producer and toy designer * Matt Muncy (born 1983), American former prof ...

. The stream flows south for several miles with few turns, following the Northumberland/Montour County line. Eventually it makes a sharp turn southeast and leaves the county line. Upon leaving the county line, the stream begins flowing roughly parallel to the border between Anthony Township and Limestone Township, Montour County. During this stretch, the stream crosses

Pennsylvania Route 44 Pennsylvania Route 44 (PA 44) is a -long state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route, which is signed north-south, is designated from Interstate 80 (I-80) and PA 42 in Buckhorn northwest to the New York state line near New York S ...

and

Pennsylvania Route 54 Pennsylvania Route 54 (PA 54) is a state highway which runs for in eastern Pennsylvania. It runs from U.S. Route 15 (US 15), which is three miles (5 km) west of Montgomery, Lycoming County, in the west, to US 209 in Nesquehoning, ...

and at the southern edge of the stretch, it receives the tributary Beaver Run. It then turns northeast into Anthony Township, where it picks up the tributary McKee Run. The stream then turns southeast and reaches its confluence with West Branch Chillisquaque Creek at the southern edge of Anthony Township. County Line Branch joins West Branch Chillisquaque Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Tributaries of County Line Branch include Beaver Run and McKee Run. The stream also has unnamed tributaries.

Hydrology

The entirety of County Line Branch and the entirety of each of its tributaries is considered by the

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for protecting and preserving the land, air, water, and public health through enforcement of the state's environmental laws. ...

to be impaired. The stream and a number of its tributaries are affected by

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...

due to agriculture.

Geography and geology

County Line Branch has an elevation of at its mouth. Much of the southern part of the watershed of County Line Branch lies over rock of the Onondaga and Old Port Formation. Some of the southern part of the watershed, however, is over rock of the Keyser and Tonoloway Formation. Most of the middle reaches of the watershed are on rock of the

Hamilton Group The Hamilton Group is a Devonian-age geological group in the Appalachian region of the United States. It is present in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, northwestern Virginia and Ontario, Canada. It is mainly composed of mar ...

and the uppermost and northernmost reaches of the watershed are on the Trimmers Rock Formation. There are several

in the watershed of County Line Branch. The Chenango-Pope-Holly series is found in a small part of the lowest reaches of the watershed, near the stream's mouth. The Hagerstown-Edom-Washington series is found in a much larger area in the southern part of the watershed. The Watson-Berks-Alvira series occurs in the watershed's middle reaches and the Berks-Weikert-Beddington series is found near the headwaters and also on its southwestern edge. There is

glacial till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

in the watershed of County Line Branch.

Watershed

The watershed of County Line Branch has an area of 8.97 square miles. Much of the watershed is in Anthony and Limestone Townships in Montour County, but a significant portion of it is in Lewis Township, Northumberland County. The watershed also occupies part of

Turbotville Turbotville Borough is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 705 at the 2010 census. Geography Turbotville is located at (41.102454, –76.771188). According to the United States Census Bureau, th ...

. Its northern edge is on the border of Lycoming County. The headwaters of County Line Branch and their vicinity are mostly forested. However, nearly all of the rest of it is agricultural land. There is little development anywhere in the watershed.

History and industries

An site called the Pulsifer Site (also known as Site 36Mo79) is a

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

site on a stream terrace of County Line Branch. 32 artifacts have been unearthed at the site, 31 of which are

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...

flakes. The other artifact is a

biface A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a Prehistory, prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually f ...

. The material of these artifacts are dissimilar to 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 area. Some of these artifacts date to the Archaic period and the Transitional period.

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

ing are done in the upper reaches of the watershed of County Line Branch.

Biology

A large number of

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

plants and animals live at the headwaters of County Line Branch. There are also forests at the headwaters, which are part of a large tract of forested land. The Mountour County Natural Heritage Inventory lists the headwaters of County Line Branch as a "locally significant" site. There are 12

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

species at the headwaters of County Line Branch. These include three

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

species, two

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

species, and two

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

species. There is also a large population of

American beech ''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada. Description ''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...

trees.

Shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s in this area include

witch hazel Witch-hazels or witch hazels (''Hamamelis'') are a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America ('' H. ovalis'', '' H. virginiana'', and '' H. vernalis''), and one each in Japan ('' H.&nb ...

blackberry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...

spicebush Dried fruits of ''Lindera neesiana'' used as spice (coll. MHNT) ''Lindera'' is a genus of about 80–100mountain laurel. There are also 23

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

species, including

Christmas fern ''Polystichum acrostichoides'', commonly denominated Christmas fern, is a perennial, evergreen fern native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and south to Florida and eastern Texas.Indian cucumber,

veined skullcap Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

fleabane Fleabane is a common name for some flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are in the subfamily Asteroideae: * ''Conyza'' (butterweeds or horseweeds: Astereae) * ''Erigeron'' (Astereae) * ''Inula'' ("yellowheads": Inuleae) * ''Pluchea'' (ca ...

wild sarsaparilla ''Aralia nudicaulis'' (commonly wild sarsaparilla,Dickinson, T.; Metsger, G.; Hull, J.; and Dickinson, R. (2004) The ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 140. false sarsaparilla, shot bush, small spikenard, ...

, and numerous others. There are three

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

species inhabiting the headwaters of County Line Branch: the redback salamander, the northern spring salamander, and the

northern two-lined salamander The northern two-lined salamander (''Eurycea bislineata'') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae found in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, intermittent river ...

Stoneflies Plecoptera is an order of insects, commonly known as stoneflies. Some 3,500 species are described worldwide, with new species still being discovered. Stoneflies are found worldwide, except Antarctica. Stoneflies are believed to be one of the mo ...

and

fireflies The Lampyridae are a family (biology), family of Elateroidea, elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are bioluminescence, light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, ...

also live in the area. There are also ten species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s at the stream's headwaters, including

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers Th ...

thrush ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

es,

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

s, and others. There are some

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

near the source of County Line Branch.

Beech bark disease Beech bark disease is a disease that causes mortality and defects in beech trees in the eastern United States, Canada and Europe.Houston, David R., and James T. O'Brien. "Beech Bark Disease." Forest Insect and Disease Leaflet 75(1998) 1-7. 17 Mar 2 ...

could potentially affect the beech trees in this area as well.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Montour County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Chillisquaque Creek Rivers of Pennsylvania