Johnson Creek (also known as Johnson's Creek) is a tributary of

Lithia Springs Creek Lithia Springs Creek (also known as Johnsons Run or Lithia Spring Creek) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Point Township, Northumberlan ...

Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Northumberland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,647. Its county seat is Sunbury. The county was formed in 1772 from parts of Lancas ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Point Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of . It has no named tributaries, but has at least one unnamed tributary. A ridge known as Montour Ridge is in the watershed of the creek and a ravine with high levels of biodiversity is present on one if its tributaries. The creek is considered to be a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

Course

Johnson Creek begins in a valley on

Montour Ridge Montour may refer to: Places in the United States * Montour, Iowa * Montour, New York * Montour Falls, New York * Montour County, Pennsylvania * Montour Lake, in Montour County, Pennsylvania * Montour Run, a tributary of Fishing Creek in Columbia C ...

in Point Township. It flows south-southeast for several hundred feet and exits the valley. It then turns south for several tenths of a mile before turning south-southeast again for more than a mile. In this stretch, the creek receives two unnamed tributaries and enters another valley. It then receives two more unnamed tributaries and turns east and slightly north. After approximately a mile, it reaches its confluence with Lithia Springs Creek. Johnson Creek joins Lithia Springs Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Johnson Creek has no named tributaries. However, it has a number of unnamed tributaries, including at least one that is fed by a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

Geography

The elevation at the mouth of Johnson 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 slightly under above sea level. 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 ...

known as Montour Ridge is in the vicinity of Johnson Creek. A tributary of the creek flows through a

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. The creek is the only stream in Northumberland or Point Township to have a 100 year

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 ...

. Water from the Lithia Spring Sewer Project discharges into Johnson Creek. Expansion of

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...

collection lines near the creek has been proposed in the __.

Watershed

The watershed of Johnson Creek has an area 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 Northumberland. It is approximately northeast of the community of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. The Montour Ridge Ravine, which a tributary of the creek flows through, is listed as a Locally Significant Area in the Northumberland County Natural Areas Inventory and is given a rank of "high" in the inventory. The ravine is on

private land Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

History

Johnson 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 1178111. Permission was requested of the supervisors of Point Township to construct a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over Johnson Creek in around 1917.

Biology

Hemlocks line the Montour Ridge Ravine, which a tributary of Johnson Creek flows through. This area has a high level of plant and animal

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

. Plant species such as

spicebush Dried fruits of ''Lindera neesiana'' used as spice (coll. MHNT) ''Lindera'' is a genus of about 80–100Canada mayflower ''Maianthemum canadense'' (Canadian may-lily, Canada mayflower, false lily-of-the-valley, Canadian lily-of-the-valley, wild lily-of-the-valley,, p.105 two-leaved Solomon's seal) is an understory perennial flowering plant, native to Canada and the ...

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, ...

skunk cabbage Skunk cabbage is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * the genus ''Lysichiton'' ** Asian skunk cabbage, ''Lysichiton camtschatcensis'', grows in eastern Asia ** Western skunk cabbage, '' Lysichiton americanus'', grows in western Nor ...

, jack-in-the-pulpit,

red maple ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nativ ...

striped maple ''Acer pensylvanicum'', known as the striped maple, moosewood, moose maple or goosefoot maple, is a small North American species of maple. The striped maple is a sequential hermaphrodite, meaning that it can change its sex throughout its lifetime ...

Allegheny blackberry ''Rubus allegheniensis'' is a North American species of glandular highbush blackberry in section Alleghenienses of the genus ''Rubus'', a member of the rose family. It is the most common and widespread highbush blackberry in eastern and central ...

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 ...

basswood ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

, and

violets Violet identifies various plant taxa, particularly species in the genus ''Viola'', within which the common violet is the best known member in Eurasia and the common blue violet and common purple violet are the best known members in North America ...

. Various

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, such as ''

Eurycea bislineata 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 rivers ...

'', ''

Gyrinophilus porphyriticus ''Gyrinophilus'', the spring salamanders, are a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. The genus is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States and Canada. Their habitat In ecology, the term habitat summ ...

'', and '' Desmognathus fuscus fuscus'' also inhabit the area. The hemlock wooly adelgid has also been observed in the ravine. Johnson Creek is considered to be a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Susquehanna River Rivers of Pennsylvania