Creasy 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 ...

Nescopeck Creek Nescopeck Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The creek is in the Coal Region of ...

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 Dennison Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of . The creek ranges from very slightly acidic to very slightly alkaline. It is considered to be a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery (although it was a Coldwater Fishery in the past) and

Class A Wild Trout Waters Class A Wild Trout Waters are the highest biomass class given to streams in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. They are considered to contain the highest-quality naturally reproducing trout populations in Pennsylvania. Th ...

. Creasy Creek has one named tributary and at least one unnamed tributary.

Course

Creasy Creek begins in a valley in eastern Dennison Township. It flows south for a short distance and almost immediately receives an unnamed tributary. It then turns south-southwest for two miles or so before turning west-southwest and then south-southwest. The creek then crosses

Pennsylvania Route 437 Pennsylvania Route 437 (PA 437) is an state highway located in Luzerne County in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 940 in White Haven. The northern terminus is at PA 309 in the Fairview Township community of Mountain Top. PA 437 ...

and turns west, receiving the tributary Reilly Creek. After approximately a mile it turns southwest and after a few tenths of a mile reaches its confluence with Nescopeck Creek at Olympus Pond. Creasy Creek joins Nescopeck Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Creasy Creek has one named tributary. It is known as Reilly Creek. Reilly Creek has its own tributary, which is known as Mill Creek.

Hydrology

The pH of the waters of Creasy Creek ranges from 6.9 to 7.2, making it the only headwater tributary of Nescopeck Creek to have

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

waters. The total concentration of

alkalinity Alkalinity (from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is the capacity of water to resist acidification. It should not be confused with basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strength of ...

is between 12 and 24 milligrams per liter. The concentration of

water hardness Hard water is water that has high mineral content (in contrast with "soft water"). Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum, which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbo ...

ranges between 15 and 24 milligrams per liter. The

specific conductance Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allow ...

of the creek's waters ranges from 49 to 74 microohms.

Geography

The elevation near the mouth of Creasy 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 is approximately above sea level. A small tributary of Creasy Creek experiences

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 ...

near a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

on it.

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 Creasy Creek has an area of . The mouth of the creek is on 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 White Haven. However, the source is on the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Wilkes-Barre East. The creek's watershed is in the northeastern part of the Nescopeck Creek watershed. The watershed is near the headwaters of Nescopeck Creek. There are several miles of local roads in the watershed of Creasy Creek. The watershed has an additional one or two miles of state roads. The creek is one of six streams in the upper Nescopeck Creek watershed to have considerably more than 80 percent

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

coverage. More than 80 percent of the land within of Creasy Creek is forested. However, only a few percent is

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

land and even less is barren land. There are of streams in the watershed of the main stem of Creasy Creek. The watershed of the tributary Reilly Creek contains an additional several miles of streams. Creasy Creek contributes significantly to the flow of upper Nescopeck Creek, making it somewhat easier to

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

on Nescopeck Creek downstream of Creasy Creek than upstream of it.

History

Creasy 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 1172666. Creasy Creek was studied in the Nescopeck Creek Watershed Stewardship Report in 2002. Creasy Creek was historically designated as a Coldwater Fishery. However, in 2012 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 ...

requested that it, along with approximately 50 other streams in Pennsylvania, be upgraded to a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery.

Biology

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 ...

naturally reproduce on Creasy Creek between its headwaters and its mouth. Creasy Creek is considered to be a Coldwater Fishery and a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery. It is also considered to be Class A Wild Trout Waters. The creek is inhabited by

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

References

{{authority control Rivers of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Nescopeck Creek Rivers of Pennsylvania