Furnace Run is a tributary of

Catawissa Creek Catawissa Creek (colloquially known as The Cat) 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 east-central Pennsylvania in th ...

in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Catawissa Township and Main Township. The stream is the last named tributary to enter Catawissa Creek before its mouth. The stream's watershed has an area of . The main rock formations are the Pottsville Group and the Mauch Chunk Formation. The stream itself is considered to be a high quality coldwater fishery 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 ...

Course

Furnace Run begins on

Catawissa Mountain Catawissa Mountain is a mountain in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Its peak height is above sea level, making it the fifth-highest mountain in Columbia County. Streams that flow near the mountain include Roaring Creek, Cataw ...

in eastern Catawissa Township. It flows northeast in a valley and enters Main Township after approximately a thousand feet. After continuing northeast for a few tenths of a mile, it turns east-southeast. A short distance downstream, it receives an unnamed tributary and turns east-northeast and crosses a road. More than a mile further downstream, the stream reaches its confluence with Catawissa Creek. Furnace Run joins Catawissa Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Furnace Run has one unnamed tributary. It is known as "Trib 27545 to Furnace Run".

Geography, geology, and hydrology

The elevation near the mouth of Furnace Run is above sea level. The elevation of the stream at its source is between and above sea level. The main rock formation in the watershed of Furnace Run is the Pocono Formation. However, the Mauch Chunk Formation is found in the watershed's lower reaches. The main soils in the watershed are the Hazleton soil and the Leck Kill soil. The total concentration of alkalinity in the watershed of Furnace Run is 2 milligrams per liter.

Watershed

The watershed of Furnace Run has an area of . The upper reaches of the watershed are in the

Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 58 Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 58 are Pennsylvania State Game Lands in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. They are one of six State Game Lands in Columbia County and Montour County and are the second-largest of those State ...

. The watershed of the stream is mostly in southwestern Main Township, but a portion of it is in southeastern Catawissa Township.

History

furnace A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...

known as the Catawissa Furnace was constructed on Furnace Run near Mainville in 1815 by John Hauck. Furnace Run was named in the middle of the 1800s after an

iron furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric p ...

that was located in its vicinity. A nineteenth-century school district or geographical district known as the Furnace District was located in Cleveland Township. It was named after Furnace Run.

Biology

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection classifies Furnace Run as a high-quality coldwater fishery. The stream is 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 ...

to be Class A Wild Trout Waters from its headwaters to its mouth.

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 ...

inhabit Furnace Run and reproduce naturally there.

References

External links

Map of the Catawissa Creek watershed
{{authority control Rivers of Columbia County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Catawissa Creek Rivers of Pennsylvania