Little Roaring Creek is a tributary of 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 ...

Montour County Montour County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,136. Its county seat is Danville. The county is named for Andrew Montour, a prominent Mét ...

and Northumberland County, 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, ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Mayberry Township, Montour County and Rush Township, Northumberland County. The watershed of the creek has an area of . The creek is considered to be a coldwater fishery and a migratory fishery. At least two mills historically existed on it. Additionally, a number of

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 ...

s cross the creek.

Course

Little Roaring Creek begins on a hill in the southwestern corner of Mayberry Township, Montour County. It flows west for a short distance to the border between Mayberry Township, Montour County and Rush Township, Northumberland County. At this point, the creek turns north-northwest and flows closely parallel to the border between Montour County and Northumberland County and roughly parallel to State Route 2119. The creek flows through a valley for several miles, eventually turning north and slightly east. It eventually leaves its valley and almost immediately reaches its confluence with the Susquehanna River. Little Roaring Creek joins the Susquehanna River upstream of its mouth.

Geography

The elevation near the mouth of Little Roaring 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 source of the creek is between and above sea level. Little Roaring Creek forms part of the border between Montour County and Northumberland County. The creek enters the Susquehanna River on the river's

left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

. There are

glacial drift In geology, drift is a name for all sediment (clay, silt, sand, gravel, boulders) transported by a glacier and deposited directly by or from the ice, or by glacial meltwater. Drift is often subdivided into (unsorted and) unstratified drift (glaci ...

deposits at the headwaters of the creek. The drift is fairly thick and have been described as "exceptionally heavy". Additionally, a

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

is present. The glacial drift is at an elevation of nearly above sea level.

Watershed

The watershed of Little Roaring Creek has an area of . The creek drains a portion of Montour County's southern

panhandle A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...

. It is in the eastern portion of Northumberland County and 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 Danville. The community of Union Corners is slightly south of the headwaters of Little Roaring Creek.

History

Little Roaring Creek formed a portion of a township border as early as 1788. At some point in the past, R. Davidson constructed a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

on the creek. It was abandoned some time before 1915. A

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

owned by Jacob Swank also historically existed on the creek. It was still operational as late as 1915, when it was owned by S. Cromley. James Bird purchased a tract of land on the creek in the 1700s or 1800s and his son Ziba farmed the tract. A concrete

stringer bridge Beam bridges are the simplest structural forms for bridge spans supported by an abutment or pier at each end. No moments are transferred throughout the support, hence their structural type is known as '' simply supported''. The simplest beam ...

crosses Little Roaring Creek north of

Elysburg Elysburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ralpho Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is seventy miles north of Harrisburg. The population was 2,194 at the 2010 census. The area's biggest attraction is Knoebels Am ...

. This bridge is long. Another bridge crosses the creek . This bridge is a concrete

tee beam A T-beam (or tee beam), used in construction, is a load-bearing structure of reinforced concrete, wood or metal, with a -shaped cross section. The top of the -shaped cross section serves as a flange or compression member in resisting compressiv ...

bridge that is long. It was built in 1922 and repaired in 1978. Another concrete tee beam bridge was built over the creek in 1928 and is long. A prestressed box beam bridge was built in 1940 and repaired in 1994 and is long. A concrete channel beam bridge was built over the creek in 1954 and repaired in 2012. This bridge is long. A bridge carrying Route 2001 over Little Roaring Creek received a weight restriction in 2013. Montour County once submitted a grant request to 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. ...

for the purpose of creating a stormwater management plan for the watershed of Little Roaring Creek and a number of other watersheds. The creek was added to 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.

Biology

Little Roaring Creek is considered to be a Coldwater Fishery and a migratory fishery. Its unnamed tributaries also have this designation. Portions of the creek have a damaged or missing

riparian buffer A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area (a "buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality i ...

. The Montour County Natural Areas Inventory has suggested planting

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s that are

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to the area along the creek.

References