Little Mehoopany 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 drai ...

of the Susquehanna River in

Wyoming County, Pennsylvania Wyoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,069. Its county seat is Tunkhannock. It was created in 1842 from part of Luzerne County. W ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Windham Township and Mehoopany Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of , most of which is forested land and agricultural land. No stream in the watershed is designated as an impaired waterbody. The main rock formation in the watershed is the

Catskill Formation The Devonian Catskill Formation or the Catskill Clastic wedge is a unit of mostly terrestrial sedimentary rock found in Pennsylvania and New York. Minor marine layers exist in this thick rock unit (up to ). It is equivalent to the Hampshire Form ...

and the main

soil association The Soil Association is a British registered charity. The organisation activities include campaigning – against intensive farming, for local purchasing and public education on nutrition – and certification of organic foods. It was establ ...

is the Wellsboro-Oquaga-Morris. There are four artificial lakes along Little Mehoopany Creek: Sharpe Pond, Negro Pond, Chamberlain Pond, and Jennings Pond, and numerous

palustrine wetland Palustrine wetlands include any inland wetland that contains ocean-derived salts in concentrations of less than 0.5 parts per thousand, and is non- tidal. The word ''palustrine'' comes from the Latin word ''palus'' or marsh. Wetlands within this ...

s in the creek's watershed. A number of bridges have been built over the creek and the

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

industry is active in the area. The watershed is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

Course

Little Mehoopany Creek begins in Sharpe Pond in Windham Township. The creek flows east-northeast and then turns southeast for a few tenths of a mile before entering Nergo Pond, where it receives an unnamed tributary from the

right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...

. Several tenths of a mile to the east, it empties into Chamberlain Pond. Several tenths of a mile to the southeast, the creek flows in a northeasterly direction for a few tenths of a mile, passing by Jenningsville, before turning southeast for a few tenths of a mile and then east for a few tenths of a mile. The creek then enters Jennings Pond and heads east for several tenths of a mile. Exiting this pond, it meanders east-southeast for several tenths of a mile before meandering northeast and then east-southeast for a few miles, its valley getting progressively deeper. In this reach, the creek enters Mehoopany Township, where it eventually turns north for a few tenths of a mile before turning east for several tenths of a mile. It then turns southeast for several tenths of a mile, passing through an unnamed pond much smaller than the ones upstream. The creek then turns east, passing through North Mehoopany and crossing

Pennsylvania Route 87 Pennsylvania Route 87 (PA 87) is a north–south state highway located in northern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at exit 21 of Interstate 180 (I-180)/U.S. Route 220 (US 220) in Montoursville. The northern terminus is ...

before reaching its confluence with the Susquehanna River. Little Mehoopany Creek joins the Susquehanna River upstream of its mouth.

Hydrology

Little Mehoopany Creek is not designated as an impaired waterbody. There are zero miles of impaired streams in the creek's watershed. The average discharge of Little Mehoopany Creek is at a monitoring station near its mouth. The maximum time for water to flow from the headwaters to the mouth is 8 hours and 50 minutes. In a study of the creek's watershed by the Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association in the early 2000s, the water temperature of the creek at a fire company property ranged from . At a bridge near an elementary school the water temperature ranged from , and at the Davenport property, it ranged from . The Jenningsville site had the broadest temperature range: . At the, the pH of Little Mehoopany Creek ranged from 6.2 to 8.1, though only two measurements were under 7, and the

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 ...

ranged from . At the elementary school, it ranged from 7.1 to 8.4 and at the Davenport property, it ranged from 7.3 to 9.1. The alkalinity at these sites was and , respectively. At Jenningsville, the pH was between 6.7 and 9.6, while the alkalinity ranged from . Some amound of strontium has been discovered in the creek.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Little Mehoopany 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 standardise ...

. The elevation near the stream's

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

is above sea level. Despite its name, Little Mehoopany Creek is not actually a tributary of Mehoopany Creek, but instead joins the Susquehanna River further upstream. The ''Water Resources Inventory Report'' describes several lakes on Little Mehoopany Creek, which are now known as Sharpe Pond, Chamberlain Pond, Negro Pond, and Jennings Pond. All of these lakes are artificial. The ''Water Resources Inventory Report'' described Little Mehoopany Creek as being wide and deep at the outlet of Sharpe Pond, flowing through a clear channel. By the inlet of Negro Pond, Little Mehoopany Creek was still wide, but deepened to through a marshy channel, increasing to wide and deep at the outlet, and reverting to a clear channel. At Chamberlain Pond, Little Mehoopany Creek was wide and deep at the inlet and wide and deep at the outlet, again through a clear channel. At the inlet of Jennings Pond, shrank to and deep, increasing to wide at the outlet, but retaining the same depth. Both the inlet and the outlet were described as having a clear, rocky channel. The underlying geology in the watershed of Little Mehoopany Creek is primarily

interbedded In geology, interbedding occurs when beds (layers of rock) of a particular lithology lie between or alternate with beds of a different lithology. For example, sedimentary rocks may be interbedded if there were sea level variations in their sedim ...

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. The main rock formation in the watershed is the

, but a small area of Huntley Mountain Formation occurs in the southernmost corner of the creek's watershed. The primary

in the watershed of Little Mehoopany Creek is the Wellsboro-Oquaga-Morris, but the Volusia-Mardin-Lordstown occurs in a few areas in the northern part of the watershed. Very small areas of the Chenango-Pope-Holly and the Lackawanna-Arnot-Morris occur along the borders of the watershed, at the mouth and in the southernmost part, respectively. A 2003 study encountered no significant erosion problems in the creek's watershed.

Watershed and biology

The watershed of Little Mehoopany Creek has an area of . The mouth 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 Meshoppen. However, the source is in the quadrangle of Jenningsville. The creek joins the Susquehanna River at North Mehoopany. Its watershed contains of streams. In addition to Windham Township and Mehoopany Township, through which the creek flows, the watershed also contains part of North Branch Township and reaches the border of Forkston Township. In 2006, the

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...

in the watershed of Little Mehoopany Creek was mostly forested and agricultural land, with 67.5 percent being the former and 26.1 percent being the latter. An additional 2.6 percent was water, 2.1 percent was

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

and herbaceous land, 0.9 percent was

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s, and 0.8 percent was developed. There was no barren land. The wetlands occur throughout the watershed. There are four large

lacustrine A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

wetlands along the creek and numerous palustrine wetlands of various sizes scattered throughout the watershed. The population of the Little Mehoopany Creek's watershed was 330 people, indicating an average

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 29 people per square mile (11 per square kilometer). One of the only residential areas in the watershed is at Jenningsville, at the intersection of State Routes 3001, 4001, and 4002. Little Mehoopany Creek is capable of flooding substantially; in

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 ...

, the creek's flooding drove many people from nearby homes. The drainage basin of Little Mehoopany Creek is designed as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

History and industries

Little Mehoopany 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 1179597. A

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

was built on Little Mehoopany Creek by William, Joseph, and John Carney in 1806. A log schoolhouse was also constructed on the creek and served as a meeting place for the Mehoopany Baptist Church until 1834. Historically, canal boats would also enter the creek to unload their wares at the Jennings and Kitner Store. A

concrete slab A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings, consisting of a flat, horizontal surface made of cast concrete. Steel- reinforced slabs, typically between 100 and 500 mm thick, are most often used to construct floors and ...

bridge carrying State Route 3001 over Little Mehoopany Creek was built in Windham Township in 1955 and is long. A prestressed box beam or girders bridge carrying State Route 4002 over the creek was built in 1969 in Mehoopany Township. Another bridge of the same type, but carrying T443 and long, was built over the creek in 1996. Replacement of the State Route 3001 bridge was slated and/or carried out in the summer of 2017. The watersheds of Little Mehoopany Creek and Mehoopany Creek were studied by the firm Borton-Lawson Engineering in 2003. In the 2000s, Mehoopany Township expressed a desire to build a boat launch at the confluence of Little Mehoopany Creek with the Susquehanna River for a cost of $20,000 or more. Other projects proposed in the watershed include the $18,000 construction of a shed to hold anti-skid material near the creek. As of 2006, there are eight drilling pads for

in the watershed of Little Mehoopany Creek. There are no permitted water withdrawals for natural gas, no groundwater or surface withdrawals for public water, and no NPDES sites in the watershed. The Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association, despite its name, is also active in the Little Mehoopany Creek watershed, and has received grants for educational outreach and conservation projects. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission installed a remote water quality monitor on the creek in September 2010.

References