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 ...

is a long creek flowing into the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

with 26 named tributaries, of which 19 are direct tributaries. The creek flows through Luzerne, Schuylkill, and Columbia counties 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, ...

. The two shortest tributaries are approximately long, while the longest is about in length. The tributaries include seventeen runs, six creeks, and three hollows (unnamed streams named after named valleys that they flow through). By length, the five largest tributaries of Catawissa Creek are Little Catawissa Creek, Tomhicken Creek, Scotch Run, Beaver Run, and Messers Run. By watershed area, the five largest tributaries are Tomhicken Creek, Little Catawissa Creek, Beaver Run, Scotch Run, and Messers Run. Various species of fish inhabit most of the tributaries of Catawissa Creek. 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. ...

considers eleven tributaries of the creek to be Coldwater Fisheries.Coldwater Fishery is an official designation that means that a stream supports fish from the family

Salmonidae Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...

and other coldwater fauna and flora

/ref> Another is a Coldwater Fishery for part of its length and a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery for the other part.High-Quality Coldwater Fishery is a designation for streams that meet the Coldwater Fishery criteria and also have high

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

br>
/ref> An additional twelve tributaries are High-Quality Coldwater Fisheries for their entire lengths. 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 ...

considers eleven tributaries to be

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 ...

.Class A Wild Trout Waters is a

designation for streams that "support a population of naturally produced trout of sufficient size and abundance to support a long-term and rewarding sport fishery" and are not stocked with fish

/ref> Five tributaries have been observed to be devoid of fish life, and one other is suspected to lack fish as well. Most of the remaining tributaries are inhabited by between one and fourteen species of fish. The tributaries of Catawissa Creek range from 4.6 to 25.6 feet (1.4 to 7.8 m) in width, with the vast majority being less than 13 feet (4 m) wide. Most of the tributaries' gradients are high, but some are low or moderate and one is extremely high. The tributaries occupy seven

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, ...

quadrangles: Catawissa, Shumans, Nuremberg, Conyngham, Ashland, Shenandoah, and Delano. Most of the tributaries are within several hundred meters of a road for at least part of their lengths. The tributaries of Catawissa Creek have pHs ranging from 4.4 to 7.4. Their concentrations 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 ...

range from 0 to 42 milligrams per liter, with the significant majority having alkalinity concentrations under 20 milligrams per liter. The tributaries' concentrations 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 ...

Tributaries of Catawissa Creek

Tributaries of Tomhicken Creek

Tributaries of Little Catawissa Creek

Tributaries of Messers Run

See also

Notes

References

External links